So Much Fun at the E! Bloggers Ball

Things were so much fun at the Shangrila Fort BGC as E! Philippines held the 2018 edition of E! Bloggers Ball. Honestly I only had about a little less than two weeks to prepare. The theme High Shine was a bit out of my comfort zone but I didn’t want to say no to this event because I equally had so much fun last year too.

I went to get a suit, but I knew it wasn’t going to be enough to just go plain jo so I thought about doing a piece over it and get a little crazy. I wanted to be a little bit experimental and thought it would be nice to go avant garde, - only a few people appreciated it though. When I got to the venue and about to put it on, I got a little disheartened to wear it because it is crazy LOL. I needed some help to put it on too but everyone else was busy with their outfits. When I asked Rodel Flordeliz of NogNogintheCity, he told me they were billeted in a condo next door, and was with the other blogger friends dressing up. So I went out of Shangrila again and walked there carrying my stuff and as soon as they opened the door, I felt right at home. I thought I was crazy with my outfit but seeing them all clad in statement pieces, I felt we were in the same boat.

Oh hell yeah! We slayed that night literally - they thought I killed Santa’s reindeers for my outfit and they helped me put it on too. We walked out of the condo feeling easy even if people were staring at us, our crazy selves. I honestly think it’s the company that made the difference, being amongst equally crazy friends made me feel confident and I started to like that day because of it. :)

Before the ceremonies, we were all lodged at the red carpet they prepared outside. They have about a couple of booths specifically designed for photos - and I remember I have immortalized one of it as my profile picture on Facebook for a whole year. It was a super awesome E! Video clip by 360 Selfie, it was called the 360 Video Booth. It was actually not my first time seeing them because they’ve been in several events too. This year however, they received an award for it from E!, and in my standards they deserve it.

They’re upping the ante this year though as their company Waveplay Entertainment introduces another new concept in their business, aside from the 360 Selfie Photo Booth and Glamshot Video Booth, they let us try out the HOLO PHOTO. They take your portraits (which were really good by the way) then print it out in a PVC hologram thingy so you would turn out with your own custom hologram photo. Much like this!

HOLO FOTO by 360 Selfie from Waveplay Interactive on Vimeo.

They also sent me a copy of my portrait which I used for other things, and got that HOLO FOTO put on my white board in my home office, so whoever wants to stare at this good looking guy would have so much fun too. LOL

Anyway we obviously had so much fun, talking to friends from the blogging industry, Instagram peeps, Twitter celebs and the Youtube famous. It was one night, but I’d keep the memories intact because of all these photos and videos I got from the gig. I felt it all wasn’t about fashion, the glitz and the glam, it’s about celebrating ourselves and the people who love us. I’m so glad they’re my friends! I enjoyed, because I have no photos on my phone, I enjoyed the moment and let HOLO PHOTO do the work.

If you want the same things we had, go to 360SelfiePH.com or follow them on IG @360SelfiePH or call 5060617. Thanks for the shots HOLO PHOTO! It’s my profile pic this year! :)

KUMAGCOW

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Ria Atayde and Joseph Marco for LAB by the Eyebrowdery

This happened about a month ago but had to tell you about it. This launch is about LAB by the Eyebrowdery which is a business venture of super close friends Ria Atayde, Joseph Marco and their partners. The place looks like heaven, very clean as it is relatively new. Joseph told us how hands on he had to be when they were still putting up the shop and he had to instruct people to re-do some of the things during construction so it could pass his standards. 

I could imagine how busy they've been these past few months because of the shows they're in, that together with some minor construction issues must have put a lot of pressure on all of them, but I'm so glad they were able to finish this on time.

It is right now available by appointment, they encourage that at least if you want to have something done, cosmetic or not. Ria's Mom advised them not to do this at first because she was afraid business might affect their friendship, because it's a different world, but Ria assured her to let Joseph take lead if in case they get into that sort of trouble. They're pretty much are going to be the face of the shop and will make sure marketing and media mileage will be taken cared of. The operations side of things will be handled by their partners and since this is The Eyebrowdery franchise, they too will make sure everyone is going to be well trained before they work there. That's quite reassuring. 

Ria is part of The Hows of  Us which just got the highest  grossing movie record in the Philippines and Joseph on the other hand is doing a US tour with Maja Salvador. 

The LAB will be doing semi permanent cosmetic and eyebrow services so if you are from the East of Manila, visit them at the 3rd Floor of Ayala Malls Feliz (right side) or set an appointment via 09171221234 and start LABing your brows.

They too will be there every once in a while so who knows, you might meet them there too!

KUMAGCOW

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David Hwang in the Philippines for M Butterfly

Sat with Theatre people, members of the press and the cast of M Butterfly. This time they are hosting a luncheon for the author of M Butterfly, playwright David Henry Hwang. Yes he is in the country and he saw the Manila staging of M Butterfly.

Grammy and Tony Award winner Jhett Tolentino (the producer) says “I remember our first presscon and in the afternoon we had our rehearsal, we are now almost at the end. It’s all so sudden. Now we have given you David’s bio but I am gonna say something else. I first saw him in Chinglish and wanted to do production ever since. He’s the only Asian American playwright in Broadway that has a Tony Award, I asked him to come and this is the third country he’s visiting. He’s very in demand. The Broadway League (which i am a member of) and American Theatre Wing (which David Hwang heads) manage the Tony Awards, so he’s half of that. The key is finding the right partner and I found that in Frontrow, I wanted to see if you would be able to see that. It took me three trips to complete the cast. We had technical issues and fixed it, we were given what we were supposed to but doing this, I wouldn’t change anything.”

David Hwang says “I have been fortunate that there are so many productions of it, I don’t see it outside New York but I did on this one. The Philippines has a special place in my heart. I have an old Chinoy Family in Cebu so this was always asking for reasons to come back here. It was a legendary performance for RS Francisco, it was a fun secret. It brings together a lot of things, the opera singer, Galemar, his being French, the theatrical elements were combined seamlessly and a montage of different characters flashing through his head becomes this man who is struggling but has this passion and emotion beautifully conveyed, you can’t take your eyes off of him. For most of the play he is dressed as a woman, then third act got to be a man. It was wonderful as I have ever seen of M Butterfly in the past 30 years. Thanks to these cast and this wonderful country, I love you all.”

During the interview he said “I came to an arrangement with them and shared profits, Shi Pei Fu has already passed away. You’re fortunate to have a show that has a long life, you just feel grateful. It has gender fluidity, conversation between East and the West and it encompasses time. I did some substantial changes in Broadway to reflect the things we know about gender, this production is the old version but tweaked. What is nice is that I do see there are ways the old version anticipates the things we are talking about today. The ambiguities are inherent in the classic version. I don’t know the exact details yet but we will kick off a tour. Right now we are partnering with SM cinema. It will be in different cities, Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, Dumaguete and Baguio, hopefully on sale in October and November. Over the course of 30 years, my fundamental thoughts of the characters have changed. I thought about them more but I do think I am proud of, I understood there are a lot there are different aspects of them now.”

RS says “Hearing it from him just blew my mind. I wanted David Henry Hwang to see it, it was in his mind so that I could see if I did succeeded. If not for M Butterfly I wouldn’t be where I am now. People that I meet even recognise me as such, thank you to David for bringing it to life. Years even before M Butterfly, about 85-87 I played around, in school had my crushes but wouldn’t talk to me because they hate gays. I used to call them incognito practicing, learned their fantasies of three different people while I played a woman. M Butterfly came into my consciousness and I auditioned for that in 89, but it was scrapped. I met a guy and did an audition in UP with lines memorised. Tony met me after Alkalde ng Zalamea, they introduced me as the star of M Butterfly, the last few pages was missing the nudity part. From then on, I took it to heart. I used things to anchor as a straight guy in the show. Before, I was just doing it as lines and getting it now that I didn’t believe that because I wasn’t age appropriate. Now I think I have gone through much, I’ve been through a lot as a person, it hones you. So many emotions I can pull now as Song Li Ling, she’s ripe and textured. I told Jhett I wanted it to be different from the 90’s, I stripped myself off of it. I would definitely forgive someone like Song Li Ling. As an actor I went far preparing doing Song Li Ling, it would be better to ask Jhett since he is seated there, characters are in a state of trance when they are on stage so I didn’t know.”

There will be only a few days left for M Butterfly at the Maybank Performing Arts Theater. They say they’ll bring more shows now that they have good partners like Frontrow Entertainment. Good or bad reviews, this needs to be watched by more people. I love that they will take this around the Philippines. Go get tickets for the last few nights. They only are going to do this til the 30th.

KUMAGCOW

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Bike Run and Play as SunPIOLOgy Turns 10

I haven’t been the healthiest guy there is. I get stressed every day, I eat a lot than usual, and just learned (a couple days ago) all my fears for the past few years of having headaches was caused by too much sugar, heightened cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and my doctor told me I could be a candidate for pancreatitis or heart attack. It was scary stuff, now imagine how much Filipinos have the same condition that I have and that even if they are insured. This is why Sun Life Philippines thought it was a good idea to not only get people covered, but become their partners to a healthy lifestyle, that’s a good thing.

Have you heard of SunPIOLOgy? Sun Life Philippines has been doing these runs and activities for 10 years. With this, they are launchig SunPIOLOgy TR1O which means they will be holding a trio of events namely SUN CYCLE PH, SUN LIFE RESOLUTION RUN and SUN vs STARS with Star Magic which will all happen in November 17 (BIKE) and January 26, 2019 (RUN and PLAY).

Kisses was there also!

Ms. Mylene Lopa of Sunlife Financial Philippines says “We are celebrating something big but now our purpose is to Help Filipinos Get Lifetime Financial Security and Live Healthier Lives. To get started, we established GoWell.com.ph where community members get exclusive invites, perks, discounts and rewards to motivate people to live better. We have products designed to achieve that and got involved in dozens of events and launched Health and Wellness Ambassador Enchong Dee. We will also be hosting the 5150 Event in Cebu, so watch out for that! So far our mother company knows and sees what we are trying to do, so far we have all activities approved. Some other countries even adapted it. We are one of the diabetes hotspots in the world and people sometimes don’t know it could be managed by a healthy lifestyle, it was one are where people can be cured by living a healthy life.”

This means they’ll have more funds for scholars, embrace the different advocacies they support and fund them in ways they can. So for those who want to join the SunPIOLOgy TR1O. Sun Life Cycle will take riders to 4 cities namely Taguig, Manila, Makati and Pasay. Routes will be for beginner and expert bikers. Ambassadors like Matteo Guidcelli and Piolo Pascuall will also be in the race.

The SUN LIFE RESOLUTION RUN on the other hand will be a semi regional spectacle which will happen in Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Vietnam. They will help Hebreo Foundation, Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation, Nordhoff Foundation and then Star Magic Scholars.

Piolo says “We have already gotten more scholars over the years, some of them are already successful and were able to graduate. We want to do more this year and thanks to Sun Life Financial and Star Magic’s partnership, it is possible. The new PLAY part will be something new where there will be other sports included like Basketball, Volleyball and Badminton. This is our way to encourage people to live healthier lives. Some kids also have not been able to study, so through the scholarship and foundation, we have generous supporters to add more kids, more students where even our graduates also support the cause.”

He adds “I’m not a saint but I know how to manage my lifestyle. I don’t get sick, the pressure is there but since I get to eat well, live well, I don’t get sick anymore and that’s a great thing. With the Star Magic community joining our efforts, it goes beyond just being the ambassador of the brand. My friends, my family, even my son is now part of the Sun Life family. It’s a blessing.”

If you want to register for this event, visit their site sunpiology.com because it’s gonna make you sweat, move, groove and be healthy. Race kit includes the bag, bib with timing chip, Sun life insurance card, Sun Life Sports Bottle (because they don’t want people to throw around trash or paper cups).

Runners should come early so they can find parking and be early at the starting line. Fans have something to look forward to and hopefully, not just take their members off the couch and in their running gears, but get kids who can’t afford to study the opportunity to do so and change their lives.

John Bueno for 

KUMAGCOW.COM

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