Thursday, August 23, 2012

Action-packed Kadayawan:Is this what you call a Ghost Month?





Who says August is a ghost month? The Mandarin vocabulary? The Chinese history? Who cares by the way?


In Davao, there is an August rush, action-packed, and productivity is visible in all corners of the city. The entire Davao is filled with creativity, brilliant people and positive energies everywhere as the sound of the drum beats in Indak Indak and from the modern bands reverberate not just in Davao but were heard also across the globe through live streams.


More than 70,000 tourists joined the celebration of Kadayawan Festival who have witnessed the abundance of the city and who have experienced a very safe and decent stay in Davao hotels while enjoying the perfect weather all through out the festival celebration.


Ghost MONTH?


Real estate companies have showed their full support also in making the festival possible.Homegrown housing developer Kisan Lu Lands Inc bagged the grand prize and took home the half-million prize during the Pamulak Festival or the Floral Float Parade competition.


How can it be a ghost month when both private and public sectors benefited during this month?


Who cares the lunar formation when there is a perfect and astonishing formation of the performers on the road. Who says evil spirits are dominating the planet when obviously the demons were clearly killed by the diwatas as reflected to the choreography of this year’s champion in the street dancing competition, the Bambad National Highschool Isulan, Sultan Kudarat?


Anyway, let the believers welcome such ghost thing. Let them scare themselves. Let them drool in our celebration. As long as the omnipotent GOD , the universal energy, is always the core of all activities, there will never be a dull moment in your life.


P.S. How can it be a ghost month when THE EXPENDABLES 2 is showing now on theaters? Would it be worth of your time rather than believing such ghost month? Lol.


Meanwhile, if you happened to witness the action-packed Indak Indak, great! But hey, you might as well missed some of its awesome beauty. Here are the Albertogy's take during the street dancing competition. Where are the ghosts? haha





























If ghost month exists in August here in Davao, I would pray to have a ghost month from January to December.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

World’s Most Powerful & Wealthy Celebrities for 2012–You Won’t Believe Who’s #1!



Every year, Forbes comes out with their list of the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities. Here are the top 10 of 2012 counting down:

10. Steven Spielberg
Worth $130M, Spielberg is having a strong year. He has four new shows debuting, including Terra Nova and Smash, and he’s back in the directors chair with Oscar nominated films The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse.

9. Tom Cruise
Cruise is worth a cool 75M and popped back onto the top 10 list this year thanks to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, which earned $700 million at the global box office. He’s also just ended his 7-year marriage to actress Katie Holmes, so we’ll have to wait to see if that impacts his ranking for 2013.

8. Katy Perry
As one of only two musicians in history (the other was the late Michael Jackson) to have five No. 1 singles all from the same album, Katy is having an awesome year and is currently worth an estimated 45M. Not bad for a girl who just got divorced late last year. Her California Dreams Tour grossed nearly $60 million.

7. Kim Kardashian
The woman who made “famous for being famous” a career is worth 18M. She graced more than 63 magazine covers in the past year alone, thanks to her infamous wedding and then post-haste divorce proceedings. Contracts like her Keeping Up With The Kardashians TV show, namesake fragrance, and clothing line for Sears keeps her in the green.

6. Britney Spears
Britney’s public meltdown is like so 2007. She blasted back to the top last year with over 75 shows in one year. In addition to earning millions from endorsements and a fragrance line, she netted a 15M payday with the show X Factor as a celebrity judge. As of May 2012, she’s worth 58M.

5. Lady Gaga
Just dance, Lady Gaga! You’re worth 52M and the world’s most popular Twitter user! Although Lady G fell from her #1 slot last year, she’s still making a killing off music sales.

4. Rihanna
Drama seems to follow the Barbados-born beauty wherever she goes, but something must be working for her because this is her first time landing on Forbes list. Worth 53M (also the number of her Facebook fans–she’s second only to Eminem), she completed 85 shows over a 12 month period. Hard-working girl!

3. Justin Bieber
If looking at this kid’s resume makes you feel like your teen years were wasted, you’re not alone. Just 18 years old, Justin has sold over 12 million albums since his 2009 debut. His breakout ballad Baby is the most-watched video in YouTube history, and he’s funding start ups including Enflick, Tinychat, and Spotify. And, let’s face it–with 55M he can afford to!

2. Oprah Winfrey
You may not be surprised to see her in the top 10 list, but if you were expecting to see her in the #1 slot, you haven’t been following the news. Although she’s still worth 165M (more than anyone else on the top 10 list) Winfrey has lost a staggering $125 million since last year. After ending her 25-year syndicated show she’s faced ratings disappointments and financial issues with her cable network OWN since it premiered in Jan. 2011. Here’s hoping 2013 is better year for her.

1. Jennifer Lopez
She may just be “Jenny from the Block,” but Lopez is on fire this year with a new boyfriend, an upcoming world tour, three new movies, and a growing portfolio of endorsements. American Idol may miss her, but she doesn’t need them to stay solidly in Forbes #1 slot with a net worth of 52M. You go, girl!

To see the full list at Forbes.com, click here.

by Liza of firsttoknow.com 
Photo: venusbuzz.com

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Kisan Lu takes home the bacon in Kadayawan Floral Float contest


Thousands of spectators,dabawenyos and tourists joined the celebration of Kadayawan sa Davao especially during the Pamulak Festival or Floral Float Parade as one of the festival's highlights.

Finally, Kisan Lu Lands Inc. bagged the grand prize for this year's floral float parade. It has been the dream of the company to reach the highest award after winning the 2nd place for two consecutive years in the Pamulak but definitely the company will not stop supporting the city's events such as Kadayawan.

Here are my photos during the Kadayawan 2012 Floral Float Parade.

Want to see more photos ?


Wednesday, August 08, 2012

The 'Bourne' of the Philippine Legacy

Proud to be a Filipino.

While watching the film, I was eventually hoping that the Philippines will look attractive. In all fairness, the film didn't frustrate me in framing the country.

The Bourne Legacy is the 4th "Bourne" film series being preceded by The Bourne Identity (2002) , The Bourne Supremacy (2004),and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007). This film has new hero. The plot is all different after director Tony Gilroy accepted the challenge to continue the bourne film.

Matt Damon was supposed to be the original hero of the Legacy since the Ultimatum  was a huge success. But when Director Paul Greengrass didn't show any interest to make another series Matt Damon refused the offer of Gilroy. Anyway, I will not talk much about some technicalities happened before the Legacy was born.

I  gathered my thoughts after watching our very own Manila on big screen shot by a 'Hollywood' film outfit. One crazy thought came out was a realization that our policemen could really act better than veteran actor John Arcilla. I am sorry but John didn't satisfy me.

I would give my clap clap to the responding policemen who acted so fast, no "kemy', realistic and drove their motorcycles professionally. At least the world will see the brighter side of our policemen although, on films, policemen are the first men to fall during fights scenes.

Ninoy Aquino International Airport. I laughed out loud in this part as Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz arrived in NAIA and successfully passed the immigration with their fake docs. In the film, the CIA could hardly find Jeremy and Rachel because there were no clear connections between them and the airport's command center-- NO CCTV. Hahaha... It reminded me of the TULFO-BARRETO-SANTIAGO brawl.

Not bad for the first time. Bystanders, kids and other local folks who played as background ( who do the shouting, reacting and all in 2 seconds) did their best. The road scene was also perfect. The set was so realistic as its cinematography gave life to the 'chasing' scenes. Nakaka proud.

PLOT?  VEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeerrrrryyyy Poooooooor!

Had it not been for the Philippines, no one will watch it. The way they market it? I will not bother to discover more of that Blackbriar operations. The story tried to inject its viewers the suspense factor like the other time-attack films. It didn't give me even a single chill. My nerves were bored. Because of the Philippines, my eyes didn't close for it. ( ZZZzzzz).

If I were to rate this film 2 out of 10. ( The 2 points will go to the person who thought Philippines as one of the countries to be shot for Bourne)

P.S.

PALAWAN looked so stunning! (Extro)


Tuesday, August 07, 2012

My Photos in the Kadayawan Fiesta Photo Exhibit at Apo View

The celebration of Kadayawan 2012 at Apo View Hotel is another opportunity to me to showcase some of my Kadayawan photos in its Photo Exhibit along with some award winning photographers in Davao City.

I came to the opening of the said celebration to see the exhibit but I was actually witnessing more than a photo gallery. The annual Kadayawan Festival spirit is felt now in Apo View Hotel. I bought a muslim-inspired long sleeve in one of its exhibitors selling tribal goods and accessories while the Kaagan Dance Theatre Collective Inc. awed hotel guests and media with their superb indigenous dance performance at the lobby.

Thank you Olan Emboscado ( The Travel Teller ) who is the manager of the Apo View Diamond Club for selecting me as one of the featured photographers to showcase there.


Meanwhile, this coming August 11-25, the Maniniyot Community will have its first Photo Exhibit at the LIVING ROOM, near FTC, Tower. Street photography naman ang banat ko do'n. hehe



Sunday, August 05, 2012

Bourne in the Philippines

In the Philippines alone, the Bourne Legacy film will surely hit more than its quota since we filipinos love watching movies especially films that were shot in the Philippines. If you can't hold your excitement to watch Bourne Legacy, here are some clips leaked showing our very own Manila.







See you this August 8 to see this most awaited film on the big screen!