The Sofitel Manila Half Marathon 2014

Running enthusiasts, on the starting line!

The last time this happened was in 2008. It's one of the biggest runs in the Philippines that features 5k, 10k and 21k races which gave away prizes and surprises too. This year, on August 17 specifically... they are bringing to you the Sofitel Manila Half Marathon 2014 once again. Proceeds of this event will go to the care of street children of Manila through Virlanie Foundation. It's not just going to be a plain run and will become something that could help the plight of these kids to keep them in school, provide shelter or just overall help them go through life easy. 

One of the leading run organizers in the country Coach Rio Dela Cruz of Runrio says "By organizing the Sofitel Manila Half Marathon, we hope to one day become one of the world's most popular running event attracting both amateur and professional runners from all over the world to compete in Manila.  This marathon is dedicated to the children of Virlanie Foundation with the objective of contributing to a better future for the children of Manila". I've also seen some of the other things Coach Rio did before and a lot of people benefited from it. This is something different because I feel he's really doing it for the kids. Aside from the health benefits of the activity, people would be able to make a difference on the kids lives. That alone is something that could surely change them, to make them better members of the society.

Oh and they're keeping it a little green this time because runners are all advised to bring their own water bottles to be used on refilling stations throughout the race. They will not use paper or plastic cups because we've all seen what happened on races that had that all on the street right?! 

Registration for this race will start on June 27. Just go to Toby’s MOA, Toby’s SM North in The Block and also in Move on 30th Street in BGC. Before you decide on doing this, please checkout www.runrio.com for complete details of the race. Fees are Php 750 for the 5k, Php 850 for the 10k, and PHP 950 for the 21k. Every registered racer will receive the usual race bib, singlet, finisher loot bag and drinks so you won't get dehydrated. For the 21km runners, they will receive their own finishers medal and shirt. Isn't that neat?

The Sofitel Manila Half Marathon is also brought to you by Gatorade, Gold’s Gym, DOCOMO, StarXpo, DOLE, Delsan Office Systems,Canon Fashion Tailoring,10 Inch Lights and sounds, Dowi Hosiery, Delizio Fine Foods, Diversey, MJ Global, M Plus, Timex, Premier water and Nizoral. This also includes their media partners ANC, Business World, Fox International Channels, Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer and Radio High (where you'll probably see this advertised). For more information about the event, you can also check out the event page on Facebook here "The Sofitel Manila Half Marathon" or you can call (02)7031736 or (02)4634814 or email them at feedback@runrio.com.

I'll try and see if I can run on that day, even for fun! :)

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Dreams Get Real for McJim's Three Winners!

Who would have known that in the end of grueling eliminations and auditions that three (3) talented performers would end up as Grand Champions of McJim Classic Leather's "Dreams Get Real: The Search for the Next OPM Star!". The finals ended with an epic twist at the Teatrino Promenade in Greenhills. Now, the band Fifth Dynamics, trio JBK and Neo Domingo will fully enjoy their win and get OPM back on track as their singles have been heavily appreciated by the public. It was a decision they had to make because now, McJim will be supporting them all as they embark on achieving their dreams as OPM artists. They all have received cash prizes, gift packs from the brand and a recording + management contract plus a chance to film and release their own music videos. Isn't that awesome?

Neo Domingo and composer Urie Tesorio on this shot upon receiving the DJ's choice award.

Fifth Dynamics accepting their Championship trophy

JBK proudly shows off their Critic's choice award and the Championship trophy too.

Neo Domingo, solo artist also got his own Championship trophy. A worthy winner.

This Filipino company only knows how much talent there is in the country and they are just barely scratching the surface. Chris Cahilig their adviser adds that he's so proud to see how they've already been able to encompass performing in small clubs and now they're being seen and heard even on tv and radio. They will soon have more and the guys were so thankful for the feat. This has opened so many doors and opportunities for them. They promised even better material and compositions too. I've heard they also have gotten great nods from Jim Paredes who has listened to some of their singles during this competition. 

Kalye Pop artists 1:43 has gotten thousands of fans and just like them, these guys would probably get more airplay and seen in TV stations. As we speak, 1:43 has been able to also get tapped by networks so their songs can be used in their home grown programs and shows too. You probably heard of "Hayop Sa Ganda" (Animalistic Beauty) which has been played countless times in stations here and other provinces. Some even topping the charts, pretty cool no?!

I can't wait to see these artists be appreciated with the material that they have and I say, I hope everyone would be able to appreciate what new kind of OPM music is out there. The public surely deserves the best!

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Mc JIM Classic Leather

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Richard Gutierrez and Lauren Young for Overtime: The Premier

Stars of Overtime Richard Gutierrez and Lauren Young

I haven't been to a Filipino movie since a few months ago when I was actually forced to watch that corny comedy film (that will remain unnamed), I felt it was a product of run of the mill hype and I didn't like it. I felt like I lost hope in the film industry. A few days ago, we were invited to attend the premier of Overtime, a film directed by Wincy Ong and Earl Ignacio under GMA Films. I didn't expect much because of the previous one I watched, I just don't like films that are not well thought out. This however surprised me (genre wise) and the rest of the people who watched it that evening, I'll tell you why.

Other stars such as the gorgeous Thea Tolentino, good looking and tall Juancho Trivino, crooner Mikoy Morales and the stunning Ms. World and sister to the lead star of this film Megan Young was also there showing their support.

Without spilling any beans on the story, Overtime is about a hacker terrorizing a lady at work. He doesn't believe in their cause, nor does he think they are doing the right thing. The beginning of the story delves around establishing their relationship first. The exhilarating and suspense filled sequences followed (when he wanted to do something about where Jody works) then a dollop of comedy antics hit every turn (a must see is Bearwin Meaily and Mitch Valdez). We thought we were watching a different movie because it wasn't a full suspense film anymore but more of a dark comedy. I haven't seen anything made that way in Philippine cinemas so that alone is a good thing. Other than that, Richard would be totally different that even if you are a fan... you'll hate and curse at him a bit. That's how good he is. Lauren too did so good, she also registers so gorgeous on screen. It's like an indie film to tell you honestly because they did experiment quite a bit. The plot could have had minor adjustments to make it real but I think it worked out pretty well for their purpose. The story is fast paced and we did attentively listen to it. It's not boring. You'll be at the edge of your seats on some instances and turn blue on some very deadly but funny scenes. You have to find out what I'm talking about by watching it this July 2nd on cinemas nationwide!

How can you not fall in love with a face like this. Proud Mom to Zion, Ms. Sarah Lahbati was there to fully support her husband Richard Gutierrez.

Raymond Gutierrez

Ms. Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez

Richard plays Dom and Lauren is Jody. Lovers at first turned hostage, good samaritan turned kidnapper. 

Please don't hesitate to watch the movie "Overtime" this July 2 on cinemas nationwide! This is under GMA Films. A thing that might make you hate Richard Gutierrez... but it's gonna be all worth it!

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The Samsung Galaxy K Zoom Launch

If you had money to burn and wanted a gadget that would better fit your phone and photography needs, you might want to look at Samsung's newest called the Galaxy K Zoom. It's got this 4.8 inch long and 1280 x 720 AMOLED screen (which looked so impressive and colorful at this pod) powered by an Android 4.4 Kitkat OS, a 20.7 Megapixel camera, a 10x optical zoom, 2GB ram and a 2430 mAh battery which would last quite a while. This is more of a phone rather than a digital camera but the convenience of having both gadgets in one is just convenient.

In the event, they did lend us a few units so we can see how it fares with regular smart phones. It did give us a significant amount of excitement because the market they probably want to sell this to is us bloggers and IT media; who's involvement in social media is just natural, fast and has got a huge turnover. You'll get rid of the trouble editing, posting and updating information on channels because everything's there. The picture quality, honestly I had a debate running on my table because we had many qualms on having it qualify as a full blown camera which it isn't. In comparison, this is still digital zoom and it isn't using mirrors which DSLR's usually do. For the output, it does give really good photos and the effects embedded on the phone is something to be really proud of. Samsung has gotten pro suggestive filters and effects enabled on the menu and a half press on the clicker.

Mr. Eric Sulit, Head of Samsung Philippines Digital Imaging says that you can't beat the convenience of the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom because you don't have to lug around huge DSLR's anymore during coverages. It also has the Geo News Feature which is sent to all similar Samsung devices. My friend even showed me his GEO NEWS Message that he received containing details of the recent earthquake which happened the day before this event. He also mentioned he received it minutes from when it happened, that's a pretty useful thing to have so you wouldn't be second guessing news on Twitter. 

It was raining hard and we had fog all over 71 Gramercy  on that day but they asked us to shoot using the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom using its features. We did good and I must say, the thing is easy to understand and use even if I'm not an Android lover.

The colors can also be retouched and the possibilities of making your photo be "what you want it to be" is endless. That's something you can't really get with just an ordinary phone. Now it's more powerful and can do a wide variety of applications even if it's this small. I couldn't even say it's bulky because you need that lens for the shots you need to take. Battery wise, I think it could last you the whole day or even more because your Android can opt to choose power saving modes on it. For those who want to get a phone and a worthy camera, this is perfect. See? We even uploaded the photos on the Samsung Galaxy K Zoom via Instagram. It retails for almost 25K in the Philippines. Make sure to test it out first through vendors nationwide!

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