CARMELO ANTHONY in Manila for FIBA World Cup Qualifiers

Stepped into the BIG DOME this afternoon to see who's going to be the newest FIBA world cup ambassador and if your hunch is right, it's no other than basketball star and legendary Carmelo Anthony. The US team Gold Medalist is in Manila today to say hi to Filipino fans and watch a few games at the Philippine Arena as the qualifiers will happen in the country, Jakarta and Tokyo.
 

 

Melo (as his biggest fans call him) will also be with fellow FIBA World Cup ambassadors Pau Gasol of Spain and Argentina's Luis Scola to promote the game worldwide as these start in these three cities so there's definitely a lot of things to look forward to. Olympic medalists, regional kings from different countries gather in this top league where only the best of the best play for pride, honor and the coveted Naismith trophy.

The Philippine and international media was also able to ask questions about his role in FIBA. Aside from promoting the league, he get to visit and connect with the people of the country. The conversation went to a little talk about the fans in the Philippines and also a little advise to the Gilas Pilipinas team. He also got his own jersey to keep and gave encouragement to those who wish to become the best in the world. Here's the Q and A we did with him earlier:

For those who also joined in the fun match between Gilas Pilipinas and Jordan today at the Philippine Arena, Carmelo Anthony is going to watch in the sidelines to support basketball, and all the countries that are part of the FIBA World Cup. He's very eloquent, also lauded the "PUSO" tagline and was super eager to encourage the young fans to believe in their dreams, and make it happen!

HONOR Launches X7a and MagicBook X Series

Two things were launched at the HONOR event yesterday, an addition to their phone models the HONOR X7a and a new laptop series called MagicBook X, and they came to impress with their new products.

The X7a has a really long lasting battery (almost powerbank like with it's 6000mAh capacity), boasting of 3 days of power for a single full charge. The main camera is a 50MP Ultra clear Quad system plus it's got a lot of storage at 128 GB. The display is 6.74 inch, so those video and games would be nice to see on it. Currently, it's priced at Php 7,990 and has a Php 1,590 worth of HONOR earbuds given for free. Pretty good deal til the 28th!

The new MagicBook X series comes in 2 models, the X 14 and the X 15. It is designed for school, work and play. It utilizes 11th generation of Intel Core processors that can pretty much take on heavy work you need to do on it. It is also lightweight, so if you're the type to travel around locally or internationally it won't be too much to carry around on your backpack. It can last up to 9.9 hours of regular use with its 56Wh batteries. It won't be too hot too because they were able to stick a supersized cooling fan on it which dissipates heat. There are lots of other features for ease of moving files if you're editing most of it from different devices. The X 14 comes in the i5-1135G7 and i3-1115G4 version, price stands at Php 27,990 and has a free backpack and speaker packaged with it. This is only til the 28th though, so head on to HONOR kiosks if you're interested in getting one.

The HONOR MagicBook X 15 though costs Php 37,990, and comes in a i5-1135G7 and i3-1115G4 version. A little heavier at 1.56kg and wider display at 87% screen to body ratio, and would be useful on intimate presentations. You may visit HONOR's official website and social channels if you wish to see the complete specs. They are also offereing freebies til the end of the month. They also announced the re-supply of the X9a 5G which got sold out a few months back. 

Congrats HONOR Philippines!

Hear, See and Feel The Male Perspective on D**kTalk

There are surely a lot of talk about this particular original theater piece by Edwin Vinarao and Christian Clemente called D***kTalk. You can say it's a little more like V****a Monologues but for the male form. This is written by Benj Cruz, Ara Vicencio and is still in the script development stages but they gave us early access, not to tease, but just to get a little taste of it.

Edgardo Boy Vinerao says "It's something I was excited about, this is our dream project. This is out of the box, and we meant it because this is talking about it, d***s. It's pretty taboo here, but there are so many good things to talk about, and understand. You'll be hearing voices of it, just like each and the rest of us. Parts of the line they do mirror real life. They are just one powerful cast. Hope to see you at the RCBC theater when shows start in April.

Direk Phil Noble adds "This is our first time to showcase the elements and text of our actors, and how their characters evolve. The questions of manhood, machismo, how big the body is, or how huge their d*** is. This play wants to spark talk on perspective of one's manhood, on what he goes through just like women. The thing is like the heart, we need to take care of it. It will be heard repeatedly until it becomes organic."

Yes, the talk delves more into measuring one's manhood. Filipino terms for it actually sound more vulgar but they went ahead and introduced it to the audience, to later, have it feel more normal and start a little discourse about it especially amongst adults which the performance wants to reach.  There will be no mansplaining,or maybe a little, and a few instances of talking about IT and how it differs in every generation. 

Jake Cuenca plays Peter, Mikoy Morales is Cecile, Nil Nodalo plays Rob, Gold Aceron is Junjun and Archi Adamos plays Doodz. They're in different stages in their lives, one is using his for work, the other for proof of sexuality, the other is wondering why it's shaped oddly. Then another one gets depressed if it doesn't work as efficiently, then another proves you don't need one at all. It was just the tip of the... iceberg and they didn't even touch on some personal issues, in jest, in angst, or just plain letting it all out on stage. In a Philippine setting, talk about this would really be unsettling for some but somehow, it needs to be said, it needs to be done so they're just doing it. 

This would be really tough to pull for actors since it involves a lot of TALK. It's going to be doubly harder to also keep YOU interested in what they're saying, and make you feel uncomfortable at times, but still listen to their message (like putting their d*** on your ear) for entertainment, education or your own realization.

 

The 10 shows will be mounted at the huge RCBC Theater from April 15-23, 2023. This excerpt of D**kTalk already have had the press, showbuyers and theatre folks lead to the conversation, and there's even more they plan to do on the actual show. If you're a bit artsy and don't mind a little discomfort on the tête a tête you'll have with the cast, get your tickets via ticketworld.com.ph and see what nice things you should hear, see and feel at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium starting on April 15th.

Whether you are a man, woman, LGBTQIA++, as long as you are 18 and above, you be sure to connect with one or more of the characters and make the premise of talking about the d***s (or maybe show it if they feel like it) as casually as they can on the day of the show. This is produced by V-Roll Media Ventures.

UNIQLO 2023 Spring/Summer LifeWear Collection

Got to see the newest Uniqlo 2023 Spring/Summer LifeWear Collection a few days ago at Makati's Whitespace events place in Chino Roces. 

 For starters, they've managed to put in a lot of the clothes in color with very breathable material. As far as I know, Uniqlo has been working on that technology for years and it is really working for us in the severely tropical climate. Shirts, Shorts and Skirts, full on dresses are available for those who need pieces that work night and day. 

For those who are also working in airconditioned and cold offices, they've got several full on jackets and hoodies that are in hues of blue, purple, creams and whites (even a few denims) yet still dressed up so you don't have to worry about those formal meetings.

 About the clothing, they announced new tech in clothes that actually block UV rays. I mean, that's something absolutely amazing for people who adore the outdoors but didn't want to get skin problems right? Summer would surely be different, I'd love how that will develop in the near future.

The UT shirts have always been my favorite, but one of the artists that they featured were actually sick, I bought one of them right after the show (and consequently wearing it today!). I like the part where it says "Bless this mess!" or "I found the one my soul loves!", statement shirts and a few Andy Warhol inspired designs that would be so nice to wear during the season.

 

Aside from that, Matteo Guidicelli and Sarah Geronimo were in the venue to show us the jackets, parkas, which Matteo loves. Sarah even wore a white number which I think is also from Uniqlo. For what it's worth, I really love the part where they are continuously working on technology that makes clothing environmentally friendly, have less footprint, and also benefit the larger populace.

I also like how they give us OPTIONS, something that most clothing brands regret to not do because of the sheer size of people who need to wear them. Congratulations Uniqlo!