PHLPost Unveils 2018 Miss Universe Catriona Gray stamps

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) unveiled the special stamp featuring the Filipino pride and recently crowned 2018 Miss Universe, Catriona Gray at Novotel Hotel, Araneta Center Cubao Quezon City.

The colorful and well liked photograph of the new Miss Universe in her winning moments highlighted the stamps and special souvenir sheets.

Miss Universe 2018 Ms. Catriona Gray together with PHLPost Chairman of the Board Norman Fulgencio, Assistant Postmaster General Luis Carlos and Maxi Sta. Maria, Business Lines Manager   unveiled the special stamp which was designed by PHLPost in her honor.

Ms.Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray is also a model, stage actress, singer, visual actress, and a beauty pageant title holder.

 The 24 year-old Filipino-Australian beauty bested contestants from 93 countries to become the fourth Filipina to be crowned Miss Universe held in Bangkok, Thailand last December 17, 2018.

In 2017, PHLPost issued special stamps featuring the past Filipina Miss Universe title holder that includes Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz, Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran and Miss Universe 2015 Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

In the said pageant, Gray showcased her signature walk called Lava walk with a slow-motion twirl that stunned not just her Filipino fans and supporters but also in other countries.

In-house Philatelic Counter graphic artist Mr. Rodine Teodoro designed the beautiful stamp with credits on the photo supplied by Ms. Universe organization.

Stamps, Souvenir Sheets and official First Day Covers will be available starting February 27, 2019 at the Manila Central Post Office in Liwasang Bonifacio and all the Postal Areas of the Philippine Postal Corporation.

The regular postal stamp will costs P12 while the special stamp will cost P55 with an embellished crown and lava gown.

The stamp design features Catriona Gray in her winning moment with special embellishments on the crown and the beautiful gown designed by Mark Tumang. The prominent and iconic Mayon Volcano is the penultimate inspiration behind Tumangs creation. It also features Catriona wearing the Mikimoto crown, a pageant crown worn by previous Miss Universe title holders.

Mapua Dominates Annual Short Film Tilt in UP

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Short films from Mapua University recently led the winners of Piling Obrang Vidyo XV, an interschool video competition, at Cine Adarna in UP Diliman.

Films directed by Mapuans Celina Mae Medina, Harold Lance Pialda and Gabrielle Lloyd Reyes topped their corresponding POV categories.

Medina and fellow Mapuan Tricia Sotaso bagged Best Narrative Film and Best Cinematography, respectively, for “Ophelia.” The short film is about a depressed college student (Rea Molina) who wants to seek psychiatric help but her parents (Soliman Cruz and Angelina Kanapi) have other plans in mind. 

 

Pialda’s “Gatilyo” (Trigger) was awarded Best Director, Best Sound and Best Production Design, also in the narrative film category. “Gatilyo” tells the story of a soldier (Rocky Salumbides) who is being haunted by the war he survived.

Meanwhile, Reyes got the Best Experimental Film prize for “Ang Mambabarang at ang mga Taong Pinatay sa Limot.” Reyes' work bested his other entry “Kanin Baboy, Taong Baboy,” another Mapuan film “Ang Pagtuklas sa Larangan ng Pagiging Maria Clara” by Lady Vicente, and two others from University of San Carlos in Cebu and UP Film Institute.

“Aswang” from Far Eastern University received the Best Screenplay award, “Babuyan” from UPFI got Best Editing, People’s Choice and Cinemasters’ Choice, while “Househusband” from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde won Best Documentary.

Rody Vera, Carlo Manatad, Chuck Gutierrez, Dix Buhay, Christian Bables, Lars Magbanua, Prime Cruz, Miko Livelo and Raffy Magsaysay judged the narrative films. The group of Hiyas Bagabaldo, Wena Sanchez and Keith Deligero, and that of Jet Leyco, Jim Lumbera and Rox Lee, served as jury for the documentaries and experimental films, respectively.

POV is organized by UP Cinema, an academic, social and cultural organization based at the UP College of Mass Communication. Aside from organizing POV, UP Cinema also serves as a venue for the open and free discussion of issues and ideas concerning cinema as a movement, art and industry.

The Ways In Which GPS Is Changing How We Travel

Wazzup Pilipinas!

GPS is everywhere: in cars, in phones, in laptops, in trains etc. We can take it for granted, and we will do increasingly as it becomes a more and more common element of daily life and travel, but the amount to which it has shaped our very understanding of travel cant be overstated.

GPS is unambiguously helpful: the number of times that we turn to it to orient ourselves in situations as disparate as hiking and trying to find the local shop, is incredible. It is also packaged nowadays with an incredibly intuitive user interface. But what are the ways in which it has changed the way we travel? Lets find out.

Negates The Danger Of So Many Situations

Previously, going for a walk through a forest could be considered a highly trepidatious adventure, that required some real orienteering skills. However, GPS tracker makes it a walk in the park (or forest?). Plus, GPS negates the danger in so many other situations. Getting into a car crash on an unknown road no longer means desperately trying to explain what the last landmark you saw was to the emergency services. GPS handles that for you.

Increases Our Reliance On Smartphones

“GPS is currently most user friendly when packaged inside of a slickly designed app for your smartphone, notes Mark Channing, tech writer at Write My X and Brit Student. As if we need more excuses to be hooked on our smartphones, having this invaluable ability to track ourselves and find locations with ease in our smartphones makes all of us that bit more connected to our phones.

Allows Us To Be Found A Lot Easier

As mentioned above, in regard to the emergency services, the ability to be found as well as to find has its positives and benefits. On the one hand, the emergency services can use it, either an ambulance finding you in a remote location or the police tracking a criminal. On the other hand, it can lead to serious invasions of privacy. Again, this could be from the government, companies, organizations or just your creepy ex. Either way, its not always pleasant knowing you can be tracked at any time.

Makes Us Far Less Able To Orienteer Instinctively

Sooner or later, we will find ourselves mapping our routes everywhere. Human beings have recorded, instinctual orienteering in our DNA. Some humans, as you have probably noticed, are far better at directions and using a map than others. But the more we all get sucked into always relying on the phone, the more likely it is that we as a species erode our sense of direction.

It Damages Our Memory

“The hippocampus, the seahorse that stores our memory in the brain, shrinks if under-utilized and flourishes with training. Taxi drivers who still learn their routes by heart, for example, have powerful hippocampi, explains Rod Stuggart, travel blogger from  1 Day 2 Write and Australia 2 Write. For similar reasons as above, our memory is affected by not being relied on. If we never have to remember routes and directions by heart or with the help of rudimentary maps, our memory functions for this part of the brain will naturally decay.

Conclusion

So, there you have it. It is definitely a blessing and a curse and the results of which of those two sides win out wont be known for, potentially, hundreds of years. That being said, dont worry too much. Your reliance is unlikely to be at 100%. Next time you head out for a walk, just leave the Maps app closed for a change!

Adelina Benson is an email marketer and writer at Academic Brits and Origin Writings. She develops marketing strategies, edits and proofreads company emails. In her free time, she loves to blog to help people reach their full potential at PhD Kingdom. She is also a keen orienteering and mountaineering expert, with a passion for travel.