Best Actress Marian Rivera-Dantes' "BALOTA" Hits Theaters October 16th

It's been a while since I've last seen Ms. Marian Rivera-Dantes. I also missed the opportunity to watch her latest movie "BALOTA" which was showcased at Cinemalaya XX which won her the Best Actress trophy for obvious reasons. The film mirrors real life (although satire), of an educator who goes over and beyond her duty in the classroom. Teacher Emmy not only thinks about her future, but spins in the optimism of electing leaders, and finding out the grim reality of the human psyche.

In a mayoralty race of their quaint town, they had the choice between a land grabbing power hungry woman, or a former s3xy actor. Since she also administers a precinct during the elections, she gets caught in the action when the result meant people seizing the ballot box she carries in order to win. The woman with integrity didn't budge with any force, and baddies even became more eager to find or eliminate her, no matter what it takes.

Marian by any means still looked every bit beautiful even if she was de-glamorized. The chase brought her to vehicles, the forest, the querida's house, the s3xy actor's house, the boondocks, something you wouldn't think she'd have to do as a premiere actress yet here we are. Marian says "I couldn't explain how I felt after shooting "Balota". I even mentioned to Dong how fulfilled I felt doing it despite me being in the industry for a while now. It fed my hunger to do worthwhile projects like these. I felt inspired after that win given to me by the Cinemalaya community."

The exciting thing is, they will be having this released for public viewing this coming October 16. This is produced by GMA Pictures, written and directed by Kip Oebanda. The film also includes actors Will Ashley, Raheel Bhyria, Royce Cabrera, Sassa Gurl, Esnyr, Donna Cariaga, Gardo Versoza, Mae Paner, Sue Prado, Joel Saracho, Donna Cariaga and Nico Antonio. Apt for the times, great story line that is cohesive. It's genius. Having Marian Rivera-Dantes is a great reason to also watch this. It's our story.

Celebrating 10 Years of Streetwear: BUM Black Army Showcases Holiday Collection at Pop Up Store in Araneta City

Just got off the BUM Black Army 10th Year event at the Farmers Plaza Activity Center in Araneta City. They are celebrating 10 awesome years of providing Filipinos non apologetic street wear, something that I've loved over the years. I was witness to how they've consistently grown... experimenting on looks and setting the trend for teens, men, women, and for those who just love being unique, reeks of individuality, and authentic.

At the event, we saw several of BUM Black Army's executives, marketing professionals, influencers, models, bloggers and trad media. Folks who adore the brand also trooped to the lower ground floor of the mall to enjoy the pop up store's 10th Anniversary promo. Folks who purchase shirts, pants, caps, bags and accessories will get the change to have their own customized shirt, a 360 degree video, iced or hot coffee, free caps, shirts and hoodies. They really did take advantage of that, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

BUM Black Army also showcased their latest BUM Black Army Holiday Collection featuring several shirts, camouflage and tactical pants, baseball tops, caps and hoodies. I will be purchasing the army pants (in green) plus the army green shirts which surprisingly fit me quite well when I tried it that afternoon.

We were also treated to the music of the 90's and early 2000's as one of their ambassadors called Lunar Lights Band. A lot of people started to fill the several floors overlooking the venue. 

This was an awesome way to celebrate 10 great years of streetwear from BUM Black Army!

Here's our video coverage, please, enjoy!

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10 years is not a joke, it's valuable experience. Filipinos are social, but when one needs to express himself with fashion, BUM Black Army gives the pieces that exude confidence. I remember the years when they had goth and rock as their palette, but instead of being stagnant, they planned quite well to also grow with the generation that adored them. Now they look cool, still representing street wear, and still presenting color that can appeal to the generation today. For that, congratulations BUM Black Army! Here's to another decade or more of this excellence!

If you would love to see what they have up their sleeves, visit and like their social channels. They've got new stuff which you'll enjoy too.

LOVI POE, JM DE GUZMAN, JAMESON BLAKE in GUILTY PLEASURE

It's been a while since I've seen Lovi Po, JM De Guzman and Jameson Blake in person. It's been years, but this new movie beckons not just a bit of discovery, but quite a lot of understanding. I couldn't say it's fully cerebral, but from what I heard during the mediacon, it deduces the female perspective, talks about their fantasies, their lives, the justice system, in this Regal Films and C'est Lovi Productions produced project called "GUILTY PLEASURE".

This movie also includes Dustin Yu, Sarah Edwards, Angelica Lao, Johhny Revilla, Soliman Cruz, Raf Pineda, Adrienne Vergara, Lorraine Wong, Christian Ty, Ella Cristofani, and Darwin Yu among others. This is Directed by Connie Macatuno, while the screenplay and script is by Noreen Capili.

Lovi was quite thankful for the help she got from Regal Films' very own Ms. Roselle Monteverde whom she was actually able to call anytime of the day (even after business hours) if she needs to ask something about production. Yes, Lovi is actually producing this movie too hence C'est Lovi Productions. Though new to the production world, you must understand how Lovi has literally lived all her life in making films. JM De Guzman on the other hand brings another interesting character, a superior from the judicial sector, but a lover that brings something different in closed doors with Lovi's character, Alexis. Jameson Blake on the other hand is more aggressive, loving, funny, a different partnership that provides a choice between two men.

Lovi says "Working with Regal was amazing. It was something risky which I found out after reading the script. This is not for entertainment, but something that will spark conversation. When we were doing the scenes, we trust each other. It also felt like a fashion show, but there were moments when I was comfortable. It was great though because the ones you see on the trailer is just the tip of the iceberg. This story is a lot deep, and I'm thankful for Direk who helped me. I'm just so grateful that everyone came to see us here, and I hope you could come and see us on October 16." 

When I asked about her Producer hat, she said "What sparked this is my love for writing. I remember doing Seasons for Regal, I felt good being part of the process, and everything just came together. There are so many stories that I want to do after that, I hope I also get to do a lot of writing. My mentor is no other than Ms. Roselle Monteverde, and the fact that I can call her anytime, and also, my husband abroad who does this professionally in Hollywood, and that's awesome."

Here's what happened at the press conference:

If you find the topic interesting, go to theaters this coming October 16. It's going to be shown in SM Cinemas across the country. Accessible, interesting, and has a lot of taboo talk unearthed especially for women, empowered or not.

ASUS Releases New Zenbook S14, Teases VivoBook S14 and ExpertBook P5

Growing a line of products and innovating at the same time must be hard for others, but not ASUS! Today we ventured to Silver city in Pasig as they showcased the newest version of ASUS ZenBook S14 and teased a few more like the ASUS VivoBook S14 and the ExpertBook P5.

ASUS SEA Regional Director Jimmy Lin says "We will lead innovation with ASUS Lumina OLED touchscreen. We have won awards and excellence over our competitors. This year, we had the first CoPilot PC's, and today we are launching the ASUS ZenBook 14. This is the most advanced AI PC and the most stylish too. Perfect for users on the go with the Ceraluminum material and premium look. This utilizes AI, and the newest generation of Intel processors apt for the laptop."

This is a new standard for AI innovation and design. Rachelle Lozares of ASUS Consumer PC adds "The ASUS ZenBook S14 is our most elegant AI powered machine, available in Zumaia Gray that mimics thin rock layers and crafted with Ceraluminum. It's very hard, tough, but very lightweight and designed timelessly. This would be a good choice for a long time investment. ZenBook's are not created the same, it's one of our thinnest at 1.1 cm., and weighs 1.2 kg with the best I/o inputs in the market. This is ultra portable but last up to 27 hours. It can also be charged 60 percent in a few minutes, using your power bank. This also utilizes Intel Core Ultra 7, very efficient and can perform with 32GB RAM because who doesn't want to multi task. It's stylish and professional, a dedicated AI chip and ASUS apps so you can have more time to do other things "

The ZenBook has a dedicated CoPilot key so you can easily access its features, faster and better than ever before. You can simply ask for things, like recall, Co Creator, Live Captions and Studio Effects. It also has Automatic Super Resolution for better graphics when you need to render or do games in your off times.

The ASUS Vivobook S14 on the other hand is more portable, made even slimmer, has advanced cooling, more I/o ports and made for productivity. It uses proprietary Ice Cool Technology, RGB keyboards and looks so stylish.

The ASUS ExpertBook P5 is designed for professionals who needs more of everything. It can make you work smarter, faster, in an aluminum body. With an Intel Core Ultra Processor, it can be powerful for all those apps and functions you need to do simultaneously. This uses Copilot PC, the most intelligent Windows PC ever. This has an immersive AI Expert Meet which can do meetings across all ExpertBook P5 devices in your network, this is the future of meeting technology in this category.

The new ASUS ZenBook S14 is priced at Php 109,995 , while the ASUS Vivobook S14 and the ASUS ExpertBook P5 price is going to be announced separately late this year. This comes with warranty, Microsoft 365 subscription and Windows office.

Though it looks pricey, you must count the inclusions and the trust you get from owning a unit from ASUS. It's an investment and certainly, a good one you could utilize for school, work or creativity. The thin profile, bigger workload it could do is well worth it!