The Good with the Tecno POVA Gaming Phone

I've been using the Tecno POVA these past few weeks and it's been quite a nice experience. It's been Tecno's gaming phone and it hasn't failed me on COD which relatively uses ridiculously high graphics, yet it didn't get the device hot like in some pricey phones I've used in the past. Mind you, this isn't in the mid range priced level of smartphones and if you think about it, it would have been okay to see it with lower spec parts on it, but they didn't shortchange in the MediaTek Helio G80 Chipset it uses. It also uses a 6000mAh battery which can last you the whole day. Now imagine how many hours of gaming that would be right? Well, let's just say I do play a couple of rounds of COD with it and use social media on a regular basis but still have more YouTube time with it at night. 

This also costs Php 6,999 which means it is way cheaper than what you think. For what it's worth, you can play games, use it for work or educational purposes and perhaps a few hours of entertainment while you are stuck at home. I took the liberty to unbox it for you, here you go!

Now I wanted to actually see what how the cameras would fare because amongst all its features, that's the thing I am a little worried about, but it did quite fair in real life, no actually, I even see it better at night time video shots than more pricey ones I've tried recently. 

Again, this is my experience with the Tecno POVA. For the price, I felt it was worth it. If you're interested, go to the Shopee app and try and get one if it isn't sold out yet. I'm seeing it run out quite quickly. Must be something good with it, I bet people are going to buy this because of how it handles games. 

It's a good deal!

The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs

LA, Gretchen and Iman. Photo from Gretchen Ho's FB page.

It was an awesome night of music as the people from up and coming music label 7K showcased their talents and introduced a new show called “The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs.” They're no stranger to making music but doing this so they would be able to discover more talent and good Christmas music in the country is such a noble act.

For those who don't know, “The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs" is an online reality show in the search for talent and music that embodies how hopeful we are as Filipinos in this time of pandemic. Last October 16, we have had the chance to listen to legendary Jett Pangan (whom I listen to when I was a kid) and Gretchen Ho who gave much inspiration to us, the artists who plan to join and the other talents of 7K who were there that evening.

7K Sounds founder and artist LA Santos will be hosting the show together with Gretchen Ho and vlogger Iman Franchesca. They will also be joined by singer-songwriter and former frontwoman of General Luna Nicole Asensio. They will be also sharing their experiences so viewers, not just contestants, would be able to learn a thing or two about the music industry. The show ill be aired every Friday at 7PM on the official 7K Sounds Facebook Page. So if you are looking for a avenue to get into the music scene, “The Search for the Sound of Seven Thousand Christmas Songs" might be a good place to start.

The music label 7K Sounds wishes to get talent from across the country, they also do music production and distribution. They also ventured into creating online content and events, if you're interested in joining the competition, they listed the requirements here.

Good luck, and don't f it up!

FamiLIGTAS: Stand Against Gender-Based Violence

Speaking out and speaking your mind these days can get you red tagged, abused, violated, which is such a sad state in the country.

They can either be women, children, the elderly or part of the LGBTQ community, but they all experience supposed violence in one form or another. The problem is, most of these incidents come unreported or never gets surfaced more so during the pandemic. The psycho social, economic and mental state attribute to its worsening, but is should never be a reason or excuse ro why it should happen.

This afternoon, I got to join a press conference hosted by the one and onlyMs. Karen Davila about “FamiLIGTAS” which is a campaign against Gender-Based Violence spearheaded by RTI International, USAID Philippines and supported by government and NGO’s, as to also learn more about the situation in the country. 

Ms. Michelle Lang Alli the Director of US AID Philippines says “Your support against Gender violence requires more. It has affected 2.5 Million people nationwide including women, children, the elderly and LGBTQ sector. The pandemic has affected us all, but there is no excuse for gender based violence. We need to make available our programs for equality, to reduce GBV and its harmful effects socially and the marginalized. Recent surveys 2 in 5 women never sought help from violence, and the PNP has recorded 19.5 incidents per day in the Philippines. By forming new and enriching existing partnerships, we can help change policies, raise the volume with GBV so they can have better options now, to keep our homes and community safe, thank you!”

Lolito Tacardon of POPCOM says “This is an important campaign and it currently, homes are places for perpetrators for violence, in imbalance for the basis of gender, it affects the victim, the children, even in this pandemic. The good news is we can break that, take it out of our culture, save people from oppressive violence. We have a joint statement to support vigilance and protect families from any forms of violence. We harness our website, to encourage our followers about GBV. We recognize the raise in pregnancies of minors, to move institutions and have access to facilities of care. Our strongest weapon is our belief that we can break this cycle of violence, we will provide the platform for every Filipino woman and child, Popcom will support to further empower families.”

Dr. Carolyn of UP adds  “We commit to explain and carry out this campaign effectively. You can call on us anytime, even if we are bashed right now.”

Dana Aduna from Luna’s Collective says “Quarantine data shows Violence against Women and Children have gone down, but this doesn’t mean it is happening. It has been difficult to report crimes since everyone is in isolation. Gender inequality exists, between intimate partners, and inequalities can be related to social class, religion, women can be oppressed, some interlocking forms of violence. Seeking help, it shows 34%  do not seek help or talk to anyone at all. Luna’s Collective wants to be involved to make people talk about psychosocial support, legal, health services and is volunteer powered. Our core belief is that everyone should be comfortable about our bodies, make the community informed and live fully. We understand that gender and power relations should not dictate class and importance in society. We are at our homes with a huge amount of time and if is in a violent setup, we have women come to us, not just first timers, even repeat instances. We remind them it is not their fault, but again this is not an excuse for violence. Similar with men, women or children, even LGBTQ experience it. We need to build a support system in order to stop this.“

Patrizia Garcia adds “GBV happens and so does its effects on mental health. This cause is very close to my heart, we can encourage them to help, our communities.”

Our share of the burden is to support victims of violence, help them get the help they need, and give them access so they won’t experience this at all.  Even at these times, there should not be any instance where GBV Is justified. The state also has a role to protect these rights, which is the right thing to do. Economic, Physical, Psychological, all Gender Based violence should have no place in a progressive society. 

To know more about the cause or if you need help, visit their Facebook page at Familigtas PH as everything is there.

 

A Full Online December MMFF this 2020

MMFF is the annual festival that is held every year and this Christmas, MMDA and their partners would want to end it with a happy note. There are other opportunities and platforms so they partnered up with Globe and make it possible for them to pursue showcasing our movies to a worldiwde audience via Upstream and pay via GCash for the tickets in G Movies. 

Danilo Lim the MMDA Chairman says “The MMFF is part of Christmas, a tradition and in this pandemic we will never let it not happen. We got 5 outfits who sent their plans and Globe is the most attractive one. The plan is not just to make the Filipino homes happy, but bring this worldwide! What we have been doing will now be virtually done, from premieres, launches, with health protocols observed. We can watch these films at home, to present these movies online.”

Ernest Cu the Chairman of Globe says “We almost didn’t experience this year’s MMFF as audiences await their favorite artists to appear on screen. Movie houses may not be the best place to gather and in Globe we try our very best to provide solutions, to recreate the Christmas we love digitally with our partner Upstream so millions of Pinoys around the world can access it virtually, and access it on Video on Demand. We also are fighting online piracy, illegal streaming and copying of content, but on our campaign we try to educate more. To not affect the livelihood of content creators, film makers and their families, to lose that and not be able to put out good quality films today. We are one of the first companies to promote great Filipino films to the global audience through GMovies. We thank the MMDA and we hope to bring more cheers to Filipino homes and keep the spirit of the holidays alive. Globe has always been able to deliver like GCash in the market, it will also have gaming, goods through the app itself. Using our technology of Gcash, GMovies and Upstream, we can now watch in our homes bringing solution to Filipinos for their everyday needs. The MMFF is important to not deprive our industry of an outlet, a medium to also earn a living. We try to bring also our film makers to a global stage, to make them thrive and grow. We can bring the Filipino content to the likes of South Korea, it all starts with a dream!”

Quark Henares says “You will now be able to watch through Upstream all the content til the MMFF season. To signify the signing of these documents, we raise our mobile phones on screen to officially start it.”

“G Movies now has a new feature, the new platform initially just offer tickets. This pandemic, we offer new ways to access content by using a few taps starting November 14, we partner with Globe, Upstream and MMDA to make this possible. We spent with the Upstream team to discover content, make this seamless and easy to use. We will also be using Gcash for payments to make it more accessible to the public. Potentially to pay everything over the counter.”

Dondon Monteverde says “We are happy that amidst the uncertainty, we opened up this venture to connect with Globe’s infrastructure to now be able to stream it here in the Philippines and abroad! This is a big deal to entertain our audience, this platform was made for content producers. To bring it abroad. For those who are excited we are bringing this to you, we hope for your support in the continuance of MMFF 2020, right at your own homes. Right now we are attacking things differently, with the strong infrastructure of Globe our material is already going out to our audience. We are taking it a step at a time, to bring it all to Filipinos.” 

According to the MMDA “We have 4 official entries per script but deadline has been extended to finalize everything mid November. The price of tickets will be 250 pesos and the whole family can watch in one device without going out in the cinemas. Also, there will be a virtual parade of stars so you won’t miss anything at all. So guys, are you ready for the new December MMFF 2020? 

This will be good!