Majestic Views, Art and More at the Santa Maria MUSIC and FILM Festivall

The Sierra Madre mountain range has once again been the talk of the town as it played a part in slowing the track of the recent Super Typhoon. This starts from the province of Cagayan to the south in Quezon, but did you know that the Santa Maria Music and Film Festival (SMMFF) is also happening here? I distinctly remember the 2023 run when they featured various films, musical acts while nestled in the great outdoors! With the  theme "See What Others Can't" they've managed to celebrate year after year with the 2025 edition happening at the founder Jennifer Maliwanag's family mountain property in Santa Maria, Laguna (which is also part of the range). 

It's pretty remote and atop clouds in the morning, but this didn't stop them from featuring even more participants this year. Imagine, having 39 films from 17 different countries Australia , EU, Canada, South America, the US and a few from Southeast Asia) all to be showcased in this year's SMMFF. All of which are being celebrated, and to make this platform be their voice, and allow us to experience their different stories (and See What Others Can't). 

Quarter Finalists include Cotton Candy by Jesse Klick of USA, To Be Anders Widmark by Peter Östlund of Sweden, Image Dance by John Dawson also from the USA, First Refusal by Courtney Sanello from the USA, American Pot Story: Oaksterdam by Ravit Markus & Dan Katzir from the USA, Reborn by Ken Izumisawa of Japan, Castle in the Air by Jess D'Aguanno of Australia, Clout Chaser by Lubomir Atan of the USA, The World of UConn Stamford’s Campus Library by Dorian Robinson of the USA, Inspire Me by Geoffrey Fighiera of France, Chance Encounters by Hasi Eldib of Canada, Guiding Light by India Anne Mitchell of the USA, Life in Tandem by Joseph Litzinge & Mia Grimes who are also from the USA.

This will happen on my birthday December 6th from 4-8:30PM at the Santa Maria Open Air Cinema located at 143 Summit Barangay Pao-o in Santa Maria Laguna. If you want to experience it, visit their official website santamariafestival.com and register for a seat. It'll be one awesome day to see and feel music, film under the sky and stars!

This is organized by Jennifer Maliwanag (Festival Director), Rex Lopez the Producer and Creative Lead, and Jerico Maliwanag a Film Creator and Communications Lead for this year's SMMFF.

JULIA MONTES and PINKY TOBIANO Launch Swiss Proli Night Gummies

Everyone deserves a good night's sleep, but how would you do that with the amount of stress you're experiencing at work and at home?

A few days ago, we got to see the launch of Swiss Proli Night Gummies, an FDA approved supplement made to make your usual sleep a deep one. Guests, celebrities and brand executives were all clad in sleepwear, and beds all lined the venue to the stage. They also had some really good midnight snack items, drinks all around so you can have your fill. People were taking lots of photos in different booths and scent sprays were given as tokens to go home.

Here's a few clips I took of the event with Julia Montes and Ms. Pinky Tobiano on stage.

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Swiss Proli Night Gummies is proudly made in the Philippines and is a science based product owned by well known actress Julia Montes and top Chemist Pinky Tobiano. This has been made locally with Swiss technology, strictly tested in Mérieux NutriSciences laboratories who's expertise lie in food safety, quality and sustainability. They are also present in over 32 countries and Ms. Tobiano finished R & D for the product this year. 

A single piece would accelerate you into deeper sleep and REM. This also contains Melatonin, Ashwaganda, L-Theanine, Vitamin B6, D3, and magnesium. This hastens you to get that restful sleep which you always wanted to happen all these years and is vegan. They are also ISO certified so you are assured you're getting the best in the market. If you're interested, it's available now on online stores Shopee, Lazada, TikTok Shop, and their social channels. 

If Julia likes it, why in the world would you not right?!

ROKID AI and AR Glasses Arrive in the Philippines: Wearable Tech Access for All!

Things are certainly becoming accessible as one of the worlds largest companies of AI and AR smart glasses arrive in the Philippines. They're called ROKID and will be entirely accessible to Filipinos via The Loop which is part of the Powermac organization. I've experienced using it first hand during the event and I really like it!

Nicole Remiter from The Loop says "We are a multi brand apple and non apple seller. We are growing and expanding our products, and we now have Rokid for AI and AR innovation. It is for traveling, entertainment, navigation and other services. It will be available at the Loop Ayala mall branches. You can experience it in our stores now."

Alex Yuen from Rokid Global HK says "We are from Unity Tech and now have presence in 6 countries. We are launching these products and so far the response has been very good. We have 500 users in Taiwan for this single product. With Powemac and The Loop, our devices will reach our customers in the Philippines."

Justo Chang acknowledged how Rokid has been adopted as part of big corporations AR solutions. Over 70 percent Chinese automotive brands that use new energy  are also using it. 

It has open ear audio, take photos (some models), record videos, utilizing YodaOS , they also are recognized by top tech award giving bodies. I also heard they're doing a partnership with Vision Express in case you need to have actual eyeglasses for the frames. 45 min recording, 6 hours music playback, 4 hours Bluetooth calling, ideally one charge per day under moderate use. It also has the ability to record at 60 fps if you want to vlog with it.

Alex added "The current AI feature of the glasses include listening to music, record videos, take photos, key in questions to chatgpt. Here's a Chinese menu from a restaurant, I ask Rokid to translate it from Chinese to Filipino. So it could be any language you want, use it for other scenarios like identifying dog breeds, as it takes real world photos and push information that's understandable. It can also translate real time. We could also translate from Tagalog to Chinese (Mandarin). You just need the Rokid glasses and it'll listen, help you simplify many functions. It can also transcribe, a very powerful function for meetings. Simple instructions can do. It can also be used as a teleprompter like what we are doing now. I don't have to memorize, it listens to your speech and scroll up automatically. Use sliding motions on the side and it could go back to the start of the speech if it jumps while speaking. The AR Navigator has an actual map, much like Google maps. We tried it in HK and it won't block your vision while driving. Later on, it will work with Alipay by scanning the code and approving the payment. It does have a lot of applications possible, it can recognize voice for payment too. With this your life will change."

Macgyver Yu says "You see what Rokid can do with AI, let me introduce Rokid AR Spatial where you can play games and watch movies at the same time. You can also use this for zoom meetings, everything in private. Your screen is only seen by you. Your lifestyle will evolve. (Shows us posting on social media, watching movies, playing games). It's powerful, almost all applications work with it. The Rokid is also myopia friendly, you don't need glasses because you can adjust focus. Whether you are seated or lying down, you can watch more via Giant Screen mode. Like watching at a 300 inch screen. In sports mode, you can see how it is stable while moving. It would be best while working out. It has a 6 hour battery life, you need to experience it."

The impact of this is certainly life changing. If you think about it, we're just barely scratching the surface of what the AI and AR glasses can do. The application for PWD's, for those who cannot see or hear is within reach. Add to that, the things that Filipino developers can do with the same technology this brings is something that we can be excited about. Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and hopefully we all could get a dose of these really good wearables soon. I personally like the one for gaming and the one with the Smart TV. I'll try and ask if I could review one.