The Boy Foretold By The Stars

Do you believe in fate? Do you believe in soulmates? Do you believe that somewhere out there, there is someone intended to love you? In some ways, I do.

Those questions are pretty hard to answer. However, I've had the privilege of talking to some really smart people who are trying to tell you a story. It's called "The Boy Foretold By The Stars". This is a Filipino BL film starring Adrian Lindayag and Keann Johnson. We also got to talk to the director of this film Direk Dolly Dulu. 

This is quite interesting as it is set in an all boys Catholic school. That alone is quite crazy as a venue for an LGBT themed story (for some), but obviously it happens. One is a straight guy and the other an effeminate boy.

Adrian Lindayag plays Dominic, an honor student, achiever, straight A's and doesn't believe in fate or stars.

He told us about how he got into the film and says "I was invited by a friend who told me his friend wrote a script and told me to audition. I was taping Kadenang Ginto and I asked for permission. Good thing we filmed quite near in ABS CBN. I knew when I read the script that I was Dominic. I worked with Keann already and it was easier because of that. Yes there will be kissing scenes, people should note how good Keann is and I trusted him. I really was feeling kilig when he looks at me. I believe he's a nice person, he listens to me when I have issues, I can be myself when I am with him."

Keann Johnson plays Luke, a jock, sports man, and does everything by flipping a coin. He says "I got this role back then when I was celebrating things with fans. When I learned about it, I knew it was a different role and push my limits. It takes two to tango and I feel if it wasn't him it would feel different. I feel really kilig when he gives me things, no awkwardness whatsoever. It's 2020 and people are very understanding, if I'm going to introduce him to my parents I will be bold to do it. I feel he would always ask about his future soulmate, not just career, he's more into finding love. Honestly, the guy is very open to men or women, maybe a pansexual, I learned no one could tell you who to love, but with all your heart."

Direk Dolly Dulu says "I was waiting for the festival to start but it took too long for Cinefilipino to do screenings. I was a little down because we finished this ahead of time, even ahead of the BL wave in the country, but it just wasn't being shown. Jodi asked me about it and then CineFilipino finally decided that they would do things next year, the material was getting old but now that people are craving for it, we knew we had to do it now. This film was written in 2016 and I'm glad a lot of people trusted us, I am so thankful for that. I took it from personal experience, from a one act play of which I was trying to get over someone, I just changed names. It was formed way before the movie, I had to do it in a higschool setting. The casting was really for Dominic as it required a feminine guy doing it. It was hard to get actors who would just do it, I got a legitimate one. Getting Keann on the other hand was a no brainer because we had to get someone who looks good and was willing to do it. I had to do auditions for his role and had to make sure they jive when they are together."

To give you an even better understanding on why I'm so glad I did this interview, here's what happened during the blog conference, enjoy!

Adrian was a ball of energy, very nice and easy to talk to. He's very articulate, snaps humor into conversation and hella fun. Keann (aside from being extremely good looking) was cerebral, takes nibbles to understand questions thrown at him and gives really smart answers. Even if this was the first time I talked with them, I felt I was amongst friends, which is why I enjoyed this blog conference. I haven't felt that way in a while. I have seen the trailer, and these two are very effective, I'd mistake it is real... which is why I am so excited to watch this on theaters soon (or virtually)!

The Boy Foretold By The Stars is produced by teleserye queen Jodi Sta. Maria under Clever Minds Inc., The Dolly Collection and Brainstormers Lab. 

Coming soon!

ACER Projector Upgrades and New Monitors Out

Good things come to those who wait and yes, ACER is bringing in new upgrades on recent projector ranges and new monitors that are fit for home or business use.

They've been doing quite good and is extremely visible in the projector market and now they're raising the bar by including new wireless LED 1080p projectors with 3K lumens and laser projectors of 3,1K lumens. Aside from that, they have also released new Acer monitors that are equally nice.

For the PD and VD series, they've got the VD6510i and the PD1530i. The first is a wireless 3000 lumens LED projector which can do movies without a hitch while the latter has its colorspace twice larger than ordinary lamp projectors, which can be turned on and off in seconds. That would save you time in meetings or bonding time with family if you're fond of that. 

For a more energy efficient one, they've got the Acer XL series. This includes XL1220, XL1320W and XL1520. It delivers clear 1080p videos while staying very economical. It also lasts long on tests, having passed IP6X certifications and a 30,000 hour lifespan which means you're bound to be with it for years. That's a lot of productive meetings eh?

They also have the Acer UL and PL series which covers venues that needs projectors big or small. The Acer UL5630 is equipped with a laser diode which can do 4500 lumens worth of brightness, so imagine how big that can go. The PL7610, PL7610T and PL7510 on the other hand can handle 30K hour lifespan as well, so you can do presentations, movies, or commercially use it if needed.

Acer's B248Y, CBL272U, BL270 are all remarkable monitors from them. The first being the safest as it is designed with that in mind. It's eyesafe certified, has Acer Lightsense and Colorsense. It is FHD as well, and can be swiveled around even in a portrait way. The 

CBL272U has HDR10 support so you get clear looking display. It also has BlueLightShield Pro so you never have to worry about blue light hurting your eyes. This supports 178 degree viewing angles so you get the largest vistas when you need to. The BL270 has about the same safety features but has nice looks courtesy of the flexible placements and disappearing bezels. It also works with the Acer Smart Console App so you can easily display stuff even from your phone. Think of the things you can do with it!

If you're looking for one or more of these, make sure you're following @acerph on social channels as they're also discussing them there. I bet yah!

Miss Universe Catriona Gray for Santé Daily C

This is a great morning worth having a short discussion about the benefits of Vitamin C and keeping our health in check. 

Aside from the Santé Daily C launch, today is a testament on how Filipinos could conquer the universe and have a great ambassador to boot (which we all find adorable). They also began discussing non acidic forms of Vitamin C and how they are bringing health in the forefront for Filipinos worldwide.

Santé Chief Network Development Officer Paul Caluag says “This is something that would help everyone especially during these times. We need to increase protection and our immunity, we are excited for you to see the new Santé Daily C.”

Arlyn Corpuz their Marketing Head says “Sodium Ascorbate is Vitamin C buffered with sodium content. PH range is from 7-8. We need more of these extra Vitamin C, this is our 750mg vegetable capsules and is plant based. It reduces risk of chronic diseases, and boosts immunity.”

CEO Joey Marcelo introduced their brand miss and said “Our new ambassador is no other than the most beautiful woman in the Universe, Miss Universe Catriona Gray.”

Catriona Gray happily says “I am super excited to be part of the Santé Daily C family. I love that this is Filipino owned and a global product. We need to have that extra protection. I am sure a lot of us can relate, we need to protect ourselves and our loved ones. In the last couple of months that is what I have on top of mind. To know that you are looking after yourself and doing yourself a favor by keeping yourself healthy, I am so happy I am seeing that. It is important to do that so you can take care of the people around you. I hope I could see my friends soon, and hope a lot of people see the value of doing this, to not get sick. It was an easy choice to become an ambassador, I believe in the benefits of Vitamin C and how it doesn’t show stress. I am grateful I didn’t get sick at all these past few years, Vitamin C takes care of me and I really know the difference of taking it daily because I feel it. I can only imagine how this could also change lives, the world will appreciate the Filipino talent to the world! Thank you Santé family for believing in me, my fans and supporters, thank you even if we don’t see each other face to face and you still support me all the way! Stay safe and thank you for taking the time to hear our story.“

Joey adds “We are very excited to open this in 8 countries and make global entrepreneurs. Cat is now part of our family, we are excited to have her here with us. Thank God for technology that we are able to do this today. We all had to adjust, not just us but all our distributors especially now that we are going through the pandemic. The vaccine is not yet here so let’s make sure we strengthen our immune system. She represents the Philippines and the world. We believe we can be a champion, the Filipino can be too. We have competent research and product development team and we are the first to put up our own plant in the country. The good thing is we are doing direct selling, so our business owners will grow with us too.”

“Welcome Cat, we can now promote the Filipino product to the world. We are happy Santé is growing, together with other business owners, we will have more breakthroughs and hope people will make this part of their lifestyle. Thank you for trusting Santé. Keep on believing, let’s do more and be more!”

Now isn't that a nice day? Go get your Santé Daily C supply from leading direct sellers and business owners nationwide. Congratulations!

AIA Philam Life's Coffee Closing Project

I've had my share of horror stories with companies taking the whole lot of procedures just for a single transaction which could have just been a simple verification on a computer screen. The wasted hours, the skipping of lunch and a hot head made me furious, a lot in fact that I just decided to call it a day and leave that place. 

This morning, I got to see the light. Although we are still under GCQ, the folks at AIA PhilAm Life showed us how their company is making headway in making not just providing the apt plans, but improving procedures in a project they call AIA Philam Life's Coffee Closing Project. Gone are the days of physically meeting up at coffee shops just so you could get a policy work for you. The tons of papers, printing, photocopying and presentations while having a cup of joe beside each other should be inexistent for safety reasons. Makes sense?

AIA Philam Life's Coffee Closing Project simplified things in three-steps. With this, all it takes now is 20 minutes. From e-Submission, e-Signature and e-Payment, things get simple as everything is online. Agents utilize an AIA Philam Life iPad-based interactive Point- of-Sale (iPoS) tool. This produces a secure link for transactions, powered by Fusion, an AI-powered and award- winning digital underwriting platform which validates insurance applications. Imagine that!

Ms. Bernadette Chincuanco Head of Banking and Communications at AIA PhilAm Life says “We are very excited about this as we streamline our procedures and adapting to what our customers need at these times, I don't want to spoil it for you!"

AIA CEO Kelvin Ang says “Good to see everyone. We have challenges this pandemic and in ways it has made us see the digital capabilities and now we have to fast track and customers have asked us to quicken the process, we had to step up with innovation we recently shared and it has won us awards. Today we are able to power and enable us to do it in a faster more efficient ways for our customers. I am looking forward to catch up with everyone soon, we have a lot of cool things we're doing."

Margarita Lopez the Chief of Operations Officer of AIA Philam Life explained Coffee Closing saying “This is digital end to end and can be done in 3 steps. Submit documents, Pay and Confirm. After that they can access it in under 20 minutes. AIA PhilAm Life can send details online securely, signed digitally and get it under that amount of time. It saves us time, you get instant coverage and do it before finishing a cup of coffee. The customer portal can also be accessed from anywhere, plus an entire village of customer centric PhilAm agents to help along the way. We want our promise of protection to be available and easy to claim from us, AIA Coffee Closing was born during the pandemic, and now is available on Facebook messenger without having to go to any of our centers. We talk to clients and bring this integrated platform in an agile manner. We also use analytics to see what matters to our customers.”

Ms. Necy Santiago the Head of Customer Experience explained “Our customers feedback told us our signing process was complicated and we had to do something not complicated. We want to get them onboard and assure protection. It enabled us to work on a prototype to give them offers all within the week with a design sprint. From concept to implementation in three months, we were able to overdrive our success and give it to the customers who will enjoy them. The problems which we usually not see, we saw it and a lot of them needed help, it made us realize we need to address it and bridge the gap. We took that to heart after validation, it was easy to implement and very clear in that development period. We learned our customers was ready to help us, it is also our duty to reimagine solutions and collaborate to address matters. We got a mix of people, and our customers had given us really nice feedback making our processes even better.”

Mr. Emmanuel Mendoza the Chief Technology Officer of AIA PhilAm Life says “Bracing the concept of having necessities is one concept I heard from our events. We will continue to develop technology, analytics for the fully modern architecture to scale our productivity. It will power us with better understanding of our customers, to keep our agents educated physically and digitally; to make sure we have events for them even more in the pandemic. We are in a good position to provide not to just be there but do transformation programs and be a leader globally.” 

If you want to know more about AIA Philam Life, visit their site at philamlife.com and their social pages on FB https://www.facebook.com/AIAPhilamLife/ or their email philamlife@aia.com. You can also call them via (02)8528- 2000.