Taiwan Excellence 3 on 3 Hoop Challenge

I’ve had the privilege to catch some of the matches they’ve been doing for the Taiwan Excellence 3 on 3. The executives and the organizers must have already noted how crazy Filipinos are with basketball, and what good way to also showcase their best products in the country by holding their own 3 on 3 basketball matches right at the Mall of Asia Music Hall. The event was also attended by PBA stars which have really drawn a crowd.

This is also a basketball camp headed by one of the winningest coach in the PBA, Eric Altamirano. They will be holding the finals soon as weather hampered it from happening a few weeks ago. 192 people from all over the Philippines attended the two day affair and yes, they’ve had the opportunity to also utilize Taiwan made products for the games.

Alfred Wang Director of Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office says “This is a showcase of excellence for the two countries. All of these products have the Taiwan Excellence Seal. Filipinos passion plus the Taiwanese products just spell empowerment.”

JC Intal and Doug Kramer on the other hand showed support to the participants, all of which had talks, selfies using Taiwan’s very own ASUS phones. I have an ASUS Zenfone 5Q too which I use for personal photos, they’ve been very good only putting out quality over quantity.

I can’t wait to see who’ll win the championships which they plan to do soon!

KUMAGCOW

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Short+Sweet Film Festival Manila Extends Deadline

Good news come in huge packages, but this one is Short+Sweet. Imagine your own short film which you initially plan to show for a couple of people in the Philippines suddenly had the chance to be showcased in an international competition in Hollywood, sounds crazy? No.

This is Short+Sweet Film Festival, once an Australian theatrical initiative that has now grown into doing theatre, dance (even cabaret, comedy, burlseque), music and film all in the span of 10 minutes. They’ve got the calendar filled with activities for the arts, and recently called for entries which they (heaven willing) could get to represent the country in the Short+Sweet international competition in Hollywood.

This is in cooperation with their partners RAYA, Pineapple Lab, The Lee Strasberg Theatre abd Film Institute, Casting Networks International and the Australian Embassy in the Philippines. The deadline for entries initially was only until July 26, but they decided to extend it now until August 15, 2018. This means you’ve got a few more days to get your 5-10 minute masterpiece in the contest so they could start butting heads in heats to be viewed and shown at Pineapple Lab in Makati City. We were informed that they’d be choosing two finalists as entry to big one in the US, to ultimately be seen by thousands of people out there, win a few prizes too in the process.

The First Wave Heats have already been chosen and if you want to see those who have joined and successfuly achieved the nods of screeners and judges, take a ride down midgard south in Pineapple Lab Makati, here’s the one showing on August 5!

They will be showing more entries in the consecutive weeks after this so if you haven’t submitted your entries yet, you better do in this once in a year opportunity.

We talked to the main man himself, Mark Cleary who told us of the opportunity of the films to also be shown elsewhere in the world. He also took a bit explaining what Short+Sweet is all about. Awards are also given to Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay and People’s Choice. Here’s a short talk we had last week.

Then we also got to ask Festival Director Howard Yambao about how they go about getting people to also join especially the new up and coming creators. We asked who can join this year.

If you wish to do this, do it without hesitations. Log on to upload your entries via https://filmfreeway.com/ShortSweetFilmFestivalManila and also get your tickets on the same site. They also have their contact details listed there if you have further questions. No limits on genre, just the length of the film. Make it Short+Sweet!

Hurry!

KUMAGCOW

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Aiai Endorses BULALO WORLD

BULALO WORLD at Ayala Malls Feliz

You haven’t experienced the Philippines if you haven’t had BULALO. It’s a dish made primarily of Beef Shanks, boiled for hours with onion, salt, pepper, local pechay which creates that incomparable broth we all wish for in a cold stormy afternoon.

Ms. Aiai Delas Alas is a known Mom, cook and this is one of her personal favorites. She says “I am so happy being the face of Bulalo World, this is the only one who got me back to eating meat. It’s clean tasting, plus the Tawilis is unbelievably good. God is good and we hope to be together in the coming years. I hope to grow with you and your branches after this one.“

This branch in Ayala Malls Feliz can accomodate about 120-150 people, cozy because of their bunk chairs, clean and very family friendly. King Sisig and Lechon Factory is also associated with the brand, they have tons of branches across the country. BULALO WORLD has 25 branches all in all, so if you're raring to have some Filipino food this is the place to go. The owner Mr. Gil Nemeño says “You don’t have to go to Batangas to enjoy good Bulalo, it’s all here in Bulalo World. We chose Aiai because she started small like us, people can relate to her and just like her, we hope to be a huge success. We will work harder.”

I personally like my bowl with corn, so the broth is a little sweet :)

The layout is simple, they cook everything right in front of you. Now imagine having that bowl of BULALO from BULALO WORLD with a heaping cup of white rice, no arguments, just good stuff!

The hot bulalo meal only costs 169, you can also pair it with deep fried Tawilis which is oh so crunchy!

If you fancy other Filipino viands, they have Kare Kare, Sinigang and even Sizzling treats!

They also have light meals like Bulalo Mami, desserts too! Oh and don’t forget the Crispy Chicken Skin! Yummmmm!

In fairness with their Bulalo, it’s actually very clean tasting and not murky. I like their version of it.

Plus the Tawilis is so crunchy and freshly cooked, so good!

BULALO WORLD Ayala Malls Feliz is located at the 3rd floor, right side end of the mall. If you are in the mood for piping hot beef broth and bone marrow, visit them today with your family and friends!

Congratulations too Ms. Aiai Delas Alas! Another blessing is coming!

KUMAGCOW
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PhiliPOP 2018 30 Semi-Finalists Announced

After a long ardious process of auditions, mall tours and activations in cities across the country, PHILPOP 2018 is finally headway. Recently, they also announced the 30 Finalists who will pit against each other to vie for the best song this year.

Maestro Ryan Cayabyab says “We welcome you all, thank you to our sponsors, the MVP Group, Maynilad, Meralco. This season, this is the most exciting 30 finalists, they will be cut down to 10 and you will see that journey unfold over the next few weeks. We have some finalists who came all the way from Visayas and Mindanao. They only have passed with the merits of their compositions, we blindly listen to them because this is also voted by the public, students, composers and music aficionados. I am very optimistic but we have no prediction what song will be a hit. Now the system is democratized, every one has a fair chance but doing this will push for new ideas of young songwriters. Most of these guys are newbies and the people need to hear them all. We are finalizing the process how to choose the top 10 but it will all fall on the streaming of the songs, we will know on November who will be part of that. This is exciting!”

Famed composer Junjee Marcelo took the stage then also announced the winners

AEIOU by Kenneth John Porres

Ako Ako Jericho Buenafe

Away Way Buwagay Bumbero by Michael Llave

Dikoman by Ferdinand Aragon

Ikaw ang aking pagibig by Mark Felipe

Isang Gabing Pagibig by Karlo Angelo David

Kariton by Philip Jarilla Sarah Bolahan

Kiliti by Carlo Zapala

Korde Kodigo by Jeremy Sarmiento

Laon Ako by Ermar John Bolano

LDR by Nars Cabico

Laging Ganito Ba Tayo by Kyle Pulido

Lilipad by Melvin and Agatha Morallos

This was chosen among a thousand entries, so just being included in this list is a great feat.

Yumi Laxamana (former winner) announced the second batch of winners.

Loco De Amor by Edgardo Miraflor

Mahirap Magselos by Paul Hildawa

Makisabay by Karlo Angelo David

Malilimutan Din Kita by Marvin Blue Corpuz

MMRA by Oliver Narag

Nanay Tatay by Teodoro Festejo III

Oca by Michael Angelo Aplacador

Perfectly Imperfect Human by Barry Villacarillo

Pilipit by John Rey Reodique and Sean Cedro

Promisory Note by Michael Angelo Aplacador

Pwede by Agatha and Melvin Morallos

Tama Na by Michael Rodriguez

Unang Adlaw Nga Wala Ka by Therese Villarante

Utang by Ignacio Roxas

Yun Tayo by Donnalyn Onilongo

Noel Cabangon says “We present to you the 30 finalists of PhilPOP, thirty songs, coming together to sing and entertain the Philippines. They will continue to encourage more Filipino music and every generation they have a story to tell. Thank you for supporting them. This coincides with the week of Filipino music and the thing we did in the OPM summit 2013. Now every last week of July will be celebrated with that. Filipino music is alive and this is a testament of that. There were a lot of good entries and choosing them was a rigorous process. ”

30 Semi Finalists for PhilPOP 2018

Architect Renee Bacani of Ortigas and Co. says “We want to discover more of you, we want to support the arts and meet all of you. We will have listening booths in our malls, here in Estancia and our other ones (Tiendesitas and Greenhills) in Metro Manila, thousands of people will listen to you and get to know you. I hope you continue to do what you love and share it with us.”

Soon they will also announce the top 10 finalists, but just the same these guys will already get needed exposure in Ortigas malls, airplay on some radio stations and streaming sites. Stay tuned because hopefully, we will also get to cover that come last quarter of this year.

For being just part of the 30, congratulations! I’ve heard snippets of some of the songs and I think they are all good contenders. Surely, POP is alive in the Philippines!

KUMAGCOW

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