Evo & Grace: The WanderLusts

Does God sing Too? This line struck me as I reminisce the press preview of 33 Variations, by the Red Turnip Theater last July 23, 2015 at the Whitespace in Makati City.  It made me realize and think that I never saw a film or even a play yet that has God sing, mostly it’s his angels who does chorus with all the heavenly prayers. The said line was thrown by Clara Brandt (portrayed by Ina Fabregas) recalling how her mom sing and was like talking to God, her mom is Katherine (Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino) a musicologist doing study about music variations by Beethoven, wherein the play raise more issues and getting personal to the mother and daughter set up, while a love story and a story of friendship also evolve. Beethoven’s life is also showcase intersperse with the real scenes that happening in the play. Red Turnip’s version I must say is one highly intellectual to begin with, their attack on the story of Playwright Moises Kaufman is somewhat more poignant, powerf...

A call from Coalition of Clean Air Advocates of the Philippines.  Prior to the much awaited State of the Nation Address by His Excellency President Benigno Aquino this coming July 27, 2015, a parody entitled State of the Nation’s Air was held last July 25 at the Bahay Ng Alumni in University Of The Philippines-Diliman Campus. Organized by Coalition of Clean Air Advocates of the Philippines (CCAAP) they aim to inform everyone the real condition and situation of the air we breathe in the country, that our Government mislook and hide from its citizen. They want everyone to know that our Government has funding for it and some measures that need to be properly implemented. This details usually are not mention in the yearly SONA of the President, and he himself are aware of it. “The event is a Kontra-SONA, because in his past speeches he didn’t mention about Clean Air act, but if you’re going to check and research his past interviews and videos it was revealed that he is...

The Stylist, Inc. THE Premiere styling company in the Philippines, The Stylist, Inc headed by Rex Atienza is now the latest fashion reality TV show in E!Channel, starting this July 27, Monday at 9:30 in the evening.  The 30 minute show will showcase the daily grind of Atienza’s styling firm, his expertise, tips and techniques ,and with the help of his Angels,  his employees that will make the whole show exciting and fun to watch for. Atienza being the man behind The Stylist, Inc is also the Creative Director of Metro Magazine, Style Editor of Metro Society. Among his celebrity clients are John Lloyd Cruz, Maja Salvador, Angelica Panganiban, Lea Salonga, Matteo Guidicelli and Jericho Rosales. Atienza’s career as stylist is now more than 10 years and a trusted name already. “We are doing 6 episodes, and who knows we will have the second season. Usually there are cameras following us, to see what we do, how do we do it, basically it’s a matter of styling , and our eve...

In this challenging world, pollution and climate change, and being in the Philippines, having whiter skin is a plus. And to achieve whiter, firmer, and healthier skin, follow the golden rule of skincare: Cleanse, Tone, Moisturize and Protect . Gluta White & Firm, a revolutionary skincare product, made these steps easy and possible with its complete skincare line: Facial Wash, Facial Toner, Facial Cream, Body Lotion, Deodorant, and  Pressed Powder. Enriched with Glutathione, Clair Blanche, L-Carnitine and Lipofirm, these ingredients will transform your skin into its healthiest, most beautiful state. Glutathione protects the cells from harmful toxins and at the same time lightens and brightens skin tone. It works together with Clair Blanche, a fusion of 7 active ingredients that also prevent melanin formation leading to better skin whitening efficacy. This revolutionary product is clinically-tested and proven effective by dermatologists to give whiter skin in just ...

Celebrating the staging of one of the longest running play in Philippine Theater, Kanser who now turn 35 years old is now a full musical attraction that will showcase the historic novel of Philippine’s National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal entitled “Noli Me Tangere”. Directing this year’s Kanser is Frannie Zamora for Gantimpala Theater Foundation, and it will serve as the opening for its 38 th Season.  Base on Noli and Libretto by Jomar Fleras and music by Jed Balsamo, is very much the same with the previous production, however it’s a full musical and of course with a new cast in line. During the press launch last July 14, 2015 at Dong Juan Restaurant in Quezon City, Zamora emphasize that their version of Noli Me Tangere is the very much alike to the principles of Rizal as the way it was written. “The difference is relevance, we focus on the ideals of Rizal, not on the love story”. Zamora said. Playing Crisostomo Ibarra are Michael Pangilinan (X-Factor Phils) and Jacob Be...

A good move from fellow practicing bloggers here in Manila, in organizing the first ever Blogger-Bloggeran 2015 last July 10 at Bit Space in Makati City. it’s a one night of blog talks, who we are, what we are and what we suppose to write and share. A short talk about food blogging is discussed by Will Garcia, while Francis Lubag impressed us with his wits on how to appreciate arts, cultural and film events.  We have to admit majority of us bloggers covers the entertainment side, so this talk is so appreciated enough to understand everything in a very little time. Richard Paglicawan, a known figure in local blogging scene also share his knowledge in IT ways and how to improve our pages in the web. Earl Maghirang also discuss the SEO of blogging. With almost 20 bloggers in the event, we share thoughts, ideas and our responsibility as the newest medium in the World Wide Web. The event become successful with the help of following sponsors who also did some presentat...

It was a long day for us last June 20, 2015, but the music keeps us alive until wee hours, because we enjoy every single performance for the annual Fete De La Musique, the world known convergence of music artist in different genre, in line with the celebration of French Month in Makati City. At around 4pm we arrive at A-Space in Makati City, it’s a jampacked crowd but and still we find a space for us, most of the artist performing are from the indie circuit, but musicality they are so great and you can really feel their passion even for 3 to 5 songs that we never heard, only until that night.  Among the performances that blown us away are from Reese Lansangan whom we think can be called the Taylor Swift of Indie Music, her poetry in lyrics is amazing.  Manskee is a crowd pleaser, this man really have the heart in his music, and its catchy I tell you. And of course from Basti Artadi of rock band called Wolfgang, his machismo gesture with surprise humor is really a pl...

THE Wonder fruit of Bicol Region in the Philippines is not just a tropical fruit or nuts, it is now the latest source of beauty regimen that both men and women can enjoy. It’s the current trend in the line of beauty products that Elemie Naturals Inc dare to manufacture and share it to the world. Elemie which derived from Elemie Oils of Pili Tree is a known component for facial mask of an international beauty brand for firming and achieving youthful looks, this serve as an inspiration to Ms. Jane Ong, CEO of Elemie Naturals , Inc to enhance more the said oils, and they also develop another Oil from the pulp of Pili fruits, which both the Pili oil and Elemie is a good provider for anti-oxidants, anti-bacterial and other healing purposes.  The Pili fruits. “Actually it’s my mom, Rosalina Tan who discover the potential of Pili, she is the organic mama and she start all of this for 10 years now”, Ong said. Their product line start with hand and body lotion, body ...

In the simplest terms, a guitar tab is a word that is used to describe a musical notation, which may contain either numbers or letters and explains to the musician where to place his/her fingers on the instrument. Guitar tabs consist of multiple lines and is often called a ‘staff notation.’ These lines, which are present in guitar tabs, each represent one of the guitar strings. New musicians often find guitar tabs to be especially baffling in that the strings are written backwards. The highest string is found at the top of the guitar tabs, which is often difficult to learn since most people would expect that guitar tabs would be written from top to bottom instead of the other way around. In actuality, guitar tabs are written from the highest to lowest and the numbers on each line represent the guitar fret. In order to understand guitar tabs, all new guitarists need to learn string placement and how to correctly read frets. Generally written in standard format, guitar tabs may ...

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) imposed strict measures and closer collaboration with ABS-CBN Corp. and SkyCable Corporation as a result of the mandatory conference held Thursday. The conference meant to address various issues and concerns regarding the protection of the welfare and development of minor “housemates” in the television program “Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) 737” (and as regards other concerns about self-regulation).  Such issues and concerns were covered by the Board’s 03 July 2015 letter sent to said entities alleging complaints or feedback coming from some parents as well as the National Youth Commission (NYC) in regard to, among others, the cable 24/7 version of the program and its regular free TV version over Channel 2.   Earlier, the Board also sent a letter dated 29 June 2015 asking ABS-CBN to attend the 09 July 2015 conference to consider measures on how best to protect minors in regard to the said program. S...

The newest Pinoy musical is now a surefire hit, as they now have the second run starting July 3 up to July 26, this time at Onstage of Greenbelt 1 Mall in Makati City.  Good news is, they are staging it with same major cast but with some revisions on the script, but not to worry because the story and all the music we love at the first run is still intact. During the press preview last July 2, one thing that noticeable to the new Leading Lady version are the dialogues of Senyor Blangko, we so love him at the first run because of his punchlines, but this time it was tamed a little bit but the comedy value is still there.  I would say, Frenchie Dy being Mely has its own strong points as well in compare to Bituin Escalante, (They alternate the role of Mely), one memorable scene that showcase Dy’s acting prowess is the supposed to be death scene of Leading Man, and she nailed it as in.  Hans Eckstein as Leading Man and Dy as Mely somehow made a good registry as a ...

Ned and Felix. (Guingona and Fabregas) It is one of the most powerful yet touching performance I’ve watched so far this year, the Manila version of The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer set the standard in terms of how acting should be done in a local theater, like here in the Philippines. Set in New York in 1981, where AIDS was nowhere to be identified nor want to be discussed, the theme is so timing for Manila where cases of HIV is detected by 22 person per day as per data presented in the play. The story of Ned forming an activist group for people affected by this diseases, and his personal triumph over a lover infected by this uncured illness, and his personal dilemma of how to face the future along with his family, this bring me more personal questions in my own personal life, and yes it scare me.  Bart Guingona who act as Ned and direct the play, deliver an outstanding performance, he let me understand the world beyond this kind of social issue that majority in me...

The cast and crew of 33 Variations The premiered productions of Red Turnip Theater, is having the biggest produced play this coming July via “33 Variations of Moises Kaufman, it will open the third season of Red Turnip after their much talked past projects such as Closer and Cock, Rabbit Hole and Time Stands Still. 33 Variations will be staged in Whitespace in Makati City starting July 24 and runs all weekends until August 23, 2015. Movie and Stage actress Shamaine Buencamino will lead the cast as Katherine, the mother of Clara that will be played by Ina Fabregas. Teroy Guzman is playing Ludwig Van Beethoven. It’s a story of Mothers and Daughters whose life are interconnected with Diabelli variations, a music masterpiece of Beethoven. Jenny Jamora will direct the play and give meaning to this2009 Broadway hit. “It’s a play with music, it is written with variations intersperse with the scene as well,  Jamora said. Other cast are Paolo O’Hara, Rem Zamora, Roselyn P...

JAPANESE Food, are this year’s main attraction for all the movies featured in EIGA SAI, the highly anticipated Japanese Film Festival starting July 10 to 19, 2015, happening in Shang Cineplex of Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City. The movies for this year's EIGA-SAI. During the presscon of the said festival last June 23, we were told that around eleven films are being shown, that offers flavor, food and taste of Japan. Aside from the usual Shangri-La venue, EIGA-SAI is now a national event, it is travelling to some key cities such as Quezon City, Davao City and Cebu.  After the presscon the movie “Parasyte” had its Philippine Premiere. EIGA SAI movies for 2015. Screening in FDCP Cinematheque in Davao is on July 14 to 19, Abreeza Mall Cinema still in Davao are scheduled July 24 to 26, UP Film Institute is on August 12 to 15, Ayala Center Cinema in Cebu City is on August 19 to 23.  I am attending this Festival for four years now and I...