Puerto Princesa Underground River is now confirmed as one of the New7Wonders of Nature!

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It's now official! Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR) is now confirmed as one of the New7Wonders of Nature! Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, made the grand announcement.

He congratulated the people of the Philippines for supporting their national finalist in the global campaign.

“Fans of PPUR all over the world responded to his call for action by voting in record numbers and today’s confirmation is the well-earned reward for this extraordinary display of enthusiasm," said by Weber.

“When your very own President Aquino came out in support of the PPUR campaign, I knew that this country was taking the New7Wonders of Nature seriously,” said Weber.”

According to Edward Hagedorn, Mayor of Puerto Princesa,  this confirmation is wonderful news for Puerto Princesa, and a great example of how now its more fun to be in the Philippines,  in reference to the Department of Tourism’s “It’s more fun in the Philippines” slogan. 

“World-wide exposure of our natural beauty on this level is critical both for tourism and for our image nationally and internationally,” said Mayor Hagedorn.

Puerto Princesa Underground River is located some 50km north of the city of Puerto Princesa, on Palawan island in the Philippines. It consists of a limestone karst mountain landscape, several large chambers containing significant formations of stalactites and stalagmites, and an 8.2 km. navigable underground river that winds through a cave before flowing directly into the West Philippine Sea. At the exit, a flawless lagoon is framed by ancient trees growing right to the water’s edge.

The Darkest Hour 3D

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The DARKEST HOUR is the story of five young people who find themselves stranded in Moscow, lead the charge against an alien race who have attacked Earth via our power supply, fights to survive in the wake of a devastating alien attack. The 3D thriller highlights the classic beauty of Moscow alongside mind-blowing special effects.

This is the beginning of an invasion of aliens from outer space, intent on plundering the earth for its mineral deposits. There are some genuinely frightening scenes at the beginning, where a Moscow bridge and the city’s ancient, majestic buildings crumble into the ground, and people snared in the electric tentacles of what looks like floating fairy floss are reduced to ashes.

Sean  (Emile Hirsch) and Ben (Max Minghella), board a plane for Moscow where they discover that their software has been stolen by Styler (Joel Kinnaman), a shonky Swedish middleman purporting to be their Russian contact.

The two men console themselves in one of Moscow’s nightclubs, and are just getting to know two young women on holiday, Natalie , Olivia Thirlby and Anne . Rachel Taylor, when the city is plunged into darkness by a power blackout, and eerily beautiful electric ‘jellyfishes’ start falling from the sky.

The 3D thriller highlights the classic beauty of Moscow alongside mind-blowing special effects from the minds of visionary filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov  (who created the nonsensical but stylistically imaginative supernatural epics Night Watch and Day Watch), who produces the film and director Chris Gorak (“Right At Your Door”). “The 3D helps to create these epic stages for an intimate story. The core is the relationship between people, that’s a dramatic spine of the movie, what makes the movie emotional,” says Bekmambetov.

The Darkest Hour 3D opens in theaters nationwide on January 25 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Rachael Taylor, Max Minghella, Joel Kinnaman.

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Desire, Ennui, Anxiety: Marcel Antonio at Yuchengco Museum, Feb 6 to 25,2012

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In July of 2010, the poet V.I.S. de Veyra posted a blog essay on the art of Marcel Antonio titled “Blue Funk’d Stories: The Expanding Art of Marcel Antonio” (read at http://partycrashingangle.blogspot.com/2010/07/blue-funked-silent-stories-expanding_26.html) and coined the phrase-tag Blue Funk Erotica for Antonio’s art. 

De Veyra described Blue Funk Erotica as 

1) unsmiling faces-derived figurative drama (primarily portraiture, then), 

2) replete of appropriations or art-historical quotes, 

3) suggestive (but only suggestive) of a narrative, 

4) quasi-rebellious towards rigid allusions and painting titles’ guidance, 

5) unpainterly expressionist, 6) of an in-a-trance mood as against a happy one, and 

7) conscriptive of the painting viewer as peeper. 

“This erotica should stay around and keep us entranced,” the poet-critic wrote, “being not so much one that tickles the groin as a kind that promotes the understanding that every face, gesture, object, color, and shape is a secret sex object and clandestine true story waiting to be told.” But also debunking a previous simplistic tag on Antonio’s art as “narrative expressionist,” de Veyra wrote: “In Antonio’s case, his blue funkism's ‘de-expression’, or ‘dis-expression’ and narrative confusion through the mannerisms of narrative imagery and titling, seems to be a produce of a Russian Formalist narrative bent to ‘defamiliarize’ images and shapes towards a higher enigma. Thus his refusal to ‘express’.”

The above mentioned blog started a dialogue between Antonio’s art as well as intent (of unintent) and de Veyra’s reading, culminating in a late-2011 collection titled “Desire, Ennui, Anxiety” which shall be shown this coming Feb 6 to 25 at the Yuchengco Museum.

This title for Antonio’s new series does not so much signal a change in his art’s direction as clarify where de Veyra’s reading is right and where it needs to be tweaked. For instance, while de Veyra opts for a Barthesian “variety of narrative possibilities,” Antonio’s pragmatic knowledge of his audience allows/welcomes two basic approaches to his art.

The one approach favours rigid symbolist readings, especially as Antonio is himself attracted to the “monumental” (Antonio’s term) figure common among utopian-art compositions (of Wagnerian glorifications, classical idealism, Nazi art, Stalinist totalitarian art, socialist realism, etc.) as well as in advertising art or the idealizations of soft porn.

But, for the other approach, Antonio acknowledges that de Veyra is right about his—Antonio’s—own efforts to frustrate, so to speak, all symbolist and narrative approaches, via experimentations with juxtapositions/relations and eclectic allusions. These experimentations, appropriations, and art-history quotes result in a dehumanized atmosphere, involving such stuff as machine esthetics and the usual facial expressions of ennui and boredom, all moving towards Antonio’s intended postmodernist multiplicity of meanings. But the final result on each single canvas is an invite to a pseudo-narrative half-aware of this pseudo-ness, welcoming while parodying the various cultural and moral significations possible to professional and popular semiotics.

In this sense, Antonio’s art would be self-described as anxious about the unknown, desirous of knowledge as a matter of course but likewise celebrating the ennui of knowledge’s elusivity, even the charm of that ennui itself alone. Ennui as both springboard and object of desire, then, visually fulfilled or illustrated on an Antonio-esque drama field.

A final stamp to this anti-narrative effort to “recover the sensation of life” (Victor Shklovsky) is the artist’s devotion to the coloration of Diego Velázquez or Chagall as well as the latent abstract geometrics beneath all his pseudo-narrative stagings.

We would like to invite people or media to witnesses the Marcel Antonio art work this coming Feb 6 2012 6pm for the opening for lunching on cocktail.V.I.S. de Veyra joins Antonio in this exhibit with fourteen new poems printed in the exhibition catalogue.

For more information about the show, contact the 

Yuchengco Museum, 

2/F RCBC Plaza, cor. Ayala and Sen. Gil J. Puyat Aves.

Makati City, Philippines 1200

or 

Galleria Quattrocento

3rd Floor Glorietta 4 Art Space

Glorietta 4, Ayala Center

Barangay San Lorenzo

Makati City 

Telephone: [632] 818-5939 // [632] 519-7221;

Mobile #: 0917-8911322;

Email: galleria.quattrocento@gmail.com

Website: http://philpaintings.com/)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked Meet-and-Greet

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The chipmunks and the chipettes are back with an all-new adventure that takes them back to the forest in “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked.”  Having gone domesticated, famous, pampered and civilized – the chipmunks are relearning the ways of the wild while Dave Seville (Jason Lee) is on a quest to find them.

The latest Alvin film “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” brings more adventure, music and mayhem as Alvin and the troupe run amok in a luxury cruise liner  that brings them to a deserted island where they survive on their own instincts and tricks.

“Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked” opens nationwide (Phils.)  January 8 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Live-action films

"Alvin and the Chipmunks" (2007)
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" (2009)
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" (2011)

It's More Fun in The Philippines - The New Department of Tourism Slogan and Logo

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Today, the Department of Tourism launched its new logo and campaign to promote tourism in the country. 

“It's more Fun in The Philippines” is the new slogan and the logo looks like Philippines set in a banig weave. The slogan is printed in different, vibrant colors.

“The slogan answers why you should come to the Philippines? ‘Cause it’s more fun here. It’s what we know -- we are known to connect with visitors and share with the laughter. -- and it’s we can deliver now,” DOT Secretary Mr. Jimenez told reporters in a briefing.

I like it. I find the logo cute, colorful, hip and modern and like an ethnic but with a refreshing look. 

It's more Fun in The Philippines ! Let’s go around the wonderful Philippines and around the wonderful world!  Let's watch out for more fun and enjoy! 

The Panagbenga 2012 Festival

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The Panagbenga 2012 Festival , the 17th Panagbenga season have a lot of new events and activities that everybody  will definitely enjoy. Panagbenga is a Kankana-ey term that means "a season of blooming" or "a time for flowering."

Panagbenga Festival, is a major annual festival in Baguio City, the summer capital of the Philippines. This year’s festival has the theme “Community Convergence for a Sustainable Tourism Growth”  

Panagbenga Festival 2012 Schedule of Activities

February 1, 2012           –      2012 Panagbenga Opening Parade

February 11, 2012         –      Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom

February 12, 2012        –      Handog ng Panagbenga sa Baguio

February 12, 2012        –      Fluvial Float Parade

February 21. 2012        –      Chinese Spring Festival

The Baguio Flower Festival 2012 highlight will be on

February 25, 2012       –      Grand Street Dancing Parade

February 26, 2012       –      Grand Float Parade

February 27  –   March 4, 2012      – Session Road in Bloom

March 2, 2012              –       Pony Boy’s Day

March 4, 2012              –       Panagbenga Closing Ceremonies and Grand Fireworks Display

This is the new logo of Panagbenga  featuring five individuals colored differently : violet, green, red, orange, and blue. These varying colors symbolize the different sectors converging to make the annual festival's 2012 edition a success.

Miss Ecuador Wins Miss Earth 2011

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Miss Ecuador Olga Alva crowned as the Miss Earth 2011 at the coronation night in UP Diliman during the Coronation Show on Dec. 3. The 23-year-old beat out contestants from 84 other countries to win the competition.


Miss Ecuador, Olga Alava, was the stunning beauty  accepted her award wearing a glittering white gown with silver rhinestone embellishments.


Alava is a native of Guayaquil. She is a model and an international business graduate as well as a student of Asian culture, who studied in China for a year and speaks fluent Mandarin.

The exotic beauty presented an ecological project for safeguarding Ecuador's mangroves. She also acts as an advocate for the protection of the Yasuni biosphere reserve in her native country.

The Philippines’ representative, Athena Mae Imperial,  was hailed as Miss Water.

Caroline Medina of Venezuela was named Miss Fire while Driely Araujo of Brazil was crowned Miss Air.



Miss Ecuador impressed judges with her answer on why education must be the priority of world leaders in promoting environmentalism. 

As this year’s title-holder, it is her duty to be an ambassador for the environment.



Miss Philippines still stood out wearing a red gown. Miss Venezuela looked like a real-life Barbie doll with her pink sequined gown.
 




“I will continue working for the environment. I’m very proud to represent my country and have this crown. I’m very happy,” Miss Ecuador told members of the press after the pageant. 

Miss Ecuador is happy for the Filipinos' support and warm welcome since they arrived in the country for the pageant's activities. She added that all of the contestants are qualified for the crown. She hopes that the candidates continue their advocacy for the environment.

“I h

ope they can still help me and work with me. They’re here for a purpose. I hope they continue protecting the environment,” Miss Ecuador said.

"Celebrating Forests for People" was the slogan of this year's Miss Earth pageant, in an effort to raise awareness of the effects of climate change. Miss Ecuador also took home a cash prize of $20,000 along with other rewards.

"Thankful" by Rumer

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I have listened to this tune very first time. It's beautiful warmth so much in each word. I love the sound of her voice, something melancholy and graceful. This is from her album Seasons of My Soul.  

Rumer is the professional name of the British female singer-songwriter, Sarah Joyce.

  

Lyrics to Thankful :

It's the first breath of springtime*

And a warm wind picks up the fallen blossom

And sails in circles down the street.

A lady cycles past with her hair in braids

As they're pulling down the awning to the train station cafe

I'm alive and I'm thankful

For this time

Six o' clock, summer afternoon

Next door's kids are playing in the yard

I'm doing the dishes at the window and the radio's playing 'Superstar'

And the sun falls down on the garden next door

But two young boys are fighting, till a woman appears at the door

And the fires and the fog and the falling leaves

Under October skies

You walked me home in the cold after closing time

As the leaves rushed by

How I want to be loved

How I need to be loved

Now that I've found you, I'd do anything for you

In the Forest of Angels that's where we laid you down

And I can hear whispers

When the first frost falls on the ground

You're alive, just be thankful

For this time.

What Tree Did You Fall From?

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Find your birthday and then find your tree. This is in line with Celtic astrology. Dec 23 to Jan 01          -        Apple Tree Jan 02 to Jan 11           -        Fir Tree Jan 12 to Jan 24           -        Elm Tree Jan 25 to Feb 03          -        Cypress Tree Feb 04 to Feb 08         -        Poplar Tree Feb 09 to Feb 18          -       Cedar Tree Feb 19 to Feb 28          -       Pine Tree Mar 01 to Mar 10         -       Weeping Willow Tree Mar 11 to Mar 20         -        Lime Tree Mar 21 (only)               -        Oak Tree Mar 22 to Mar 31        -        Hazelnut Tree Apr 01 to Apr 10         -         Rowan Tree Apr 11 to Apr 20         -        Maple Tree Apr 21 to Apr 30         -        Walnut Tree May 01 to May 14       -        Poplar Tree May 15 to May 24       -        Chestnut Tree May 25 to Jun 03         -        Ash Tree Jun 04 to Jun 13          -         Hornbeam Tree Jun 14 to Jun 23          -         Fig Tree Jun 24 (only)               -        Birch Tree Jun 25 to Jul 04           -        Apple Tree Jul 05 to Jul 14            -        Fir Tree Jul 15 to Jul 25            -        Elm Tree Jul 26 to Aug 04         -        Cypress Tree Aug 05 to Aug 13       -        Poplar Tree Aug 14 to Aug 23       -        Cedar Tree Aug 24 to Sep 02       -        Pine Tree Sep 03 to Sep 12        -        Weeping Willow Tree Sep 13 to Sep 22        -         Lime Tree Sep 23 (only)             -         Olive Tree Sep 24 to Oct 03        -       Hazelnut Tree Oct 04 to Oct 13        -        Rowan Tree Oct 14 to Oct 23        -         Maple Tree Oct 24 to Nov 11       -         Walnut Tree Nov 12 to Nov 21      -         Chestnut Tree Nov 22 to Dec 01      -         Ash Tree Dec 02 to Dec 11      -        Hornbeam Tree Dec 12 to Dec 21      -         Fig Tree Dec 22 (only)            -         Beech Tree YOUR TREE (in alphabetical order) APPLE TREE (the Love) - of slight build, lots of charm, appeal, and attraction, pleasant aura, flirtatious, adventurous, sensitive, always in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, scientific talents, lives for today, a carefree philosopher with imagination. ASH TREE (the Ambition) - uncommonly attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be egotistic, very reliable and trustworthy, faithful and prudent lover, sometimes brains rule over the heart, but takes partnership very seriously. BEECH TREE (the Creative) - has good taste, concerned about its looks, materialistic, good organization of life and career, economical, good leader, takes no unnecessary risks, reasonable, splendid lifetime companion, keen on keeping fit (diets, sports, etc.) BIRCH TREE (the inspiration) - vivacious, attractive, elegant, friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere. CEDAR TREE (the Confidence) - of rare beauty, knows how to adapt, likes luxury, of good health, not in the least shy, tends to look down on others, self-confident, determined, impatient, likes to impress others, many talents, industrious, healthy optimism, waiting for the one true love, able to make quick decisions. CHESTNUT TREE (the Honesty) - of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritates easily and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner. CYPRESS TREE (the Faithfulness) - strong, muscular, adaptable, takes what life has to give, content, optimistic, craves money and acknowledgment, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered, unruly, pedantic, and careless. ELM TREE (the Noble-mindedness) - pleasant shape, tasteful clothes, modest demands, tends not to forgive mistakes, cheerful, likes to lead but not to obey, honest and faithful partner, likes making decisions for others, noble-minded, generous, good sense of humor, practical. FIG TREE (the Sensibility) - very strong, a bit self-willed, independent, does not allow contradiction or arguments, loves life, its family, children and animals, a bit of a social butterfly, good sense of humor, likes idleness and laziness, of practical talent and intelligence. FIR TREE (the Mysterious) - extraordinary taste, dignity, sophisticated, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to them, rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious, uncontented lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable. HAZELNUT TREE (the Extraordinary) - charming, undemanding, very understanding, knows how to make an impression, active fighter for social cause, popular, moody, and capricious lover, honest, and tolerant partner, precise sense of judgment. HORNBEAM TREE (the Good Taste) - of cool beauty, cares for its looks and condition, good taste, is not egoistic, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and acknowledgement in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom happy with its feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious. LIME TREE (the Doubt) - accepts what life dishes out in a composed way, hates fighting, stress, and labor, dislikes laziness and idleness, soft and relenting, makes sacrifices for friends, many talents but not tenacious enough to make them blossom, often wailing and complaining, very jealous but loyal. MAPLE TREE (Independence of Mind) - no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress. OAK TREE (the Brave) - robust nature, courageous, strong, unrelenting, independent, sensible, does not like change, keeps its feet on the ground, person of action. OLIVE TREE (the Wisdom) - loves sun, warmth and kind feelings, reasonable, balanced, avoids aggression and violence, tolerant, cheerful, calm, well-developed sense of justice, sensitive, empathetic, free of jealousy, loves to read and the company of sophisticated people. PINE TREE (the Particular) - loves agreeable company, very robust, knows how to make life comfortable, very active, natural, good companion, but seldom friendly, falls easily in love but its passion burns out quickly, gives up easily, everything disappointments until it finds its ideal, trustworthy, practical. POPLAR TREE (the Uncertainty) - looks very decorative, not very self-confident, only courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously. ROWAN TREE (the Sensitivity) - full of charm, cheerful, gifted without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest, and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive. WALNUT TREE (the Passion) - unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise. WEEPING WILLOW (the Melancholy) - beautiful but full of melancholy, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful and tasteful, loves to travel, dreamer, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with, demanding, good intuition, suffers in love but finds sometimes an anchoring partner. I'm from an APPLE TREE !   This is really cool and somehow an accurate with what describes me ! :)

Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup, The 3rd Runner Up 2011 Miss Universe

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Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup end up as the 3rd runner up 2011 Miss Universe in Sao Paolo, Brazil.        

Supsup was the favorite among the candidates, she topped the on line voting. Miss Angola Leila Lopes was crowned Miss Universe 2011. 1st Runner-up - Miss Ukraine, Olesya Stefanko. Stefanko2nd Runner-up - Miss Brazil, Priscila Machado. 3rd Runner-up - Miss Philippines, Shamcey Supsup, 4th Runner-up - Miss China , Zi Lin Luo Luo

Shamcey Supsup  did well all thru out the pageants competition, the only top 5 contender who answered her question in fluent english.  Her answer gave Philippines a head high, thumbs up and a proud nation.

She answered the question with pride and love to most sovereign to all the Almighty. She’s a  true Filipina , really someone who values her religion and will not do anything to suffer what she believe in.

Judge Vivica A. Fox asked Supsup, "Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you love? Why or why not?"


Supsup answered, "If I would have to change my religious beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love. Because the first person that I love is God, who created me."

"I have my faith and my principles, and this is what makes me who I am. If the person loves me, he'll love my God too."

Oprah Winfrey via NBC News: "I have reservations with the results. If the only basis is the Q and A portion, after having been trimmed down to 5, Ms. Philippines deserved to win. What made her different from the rest is that she had no seconds to rethink of her answer as she had no interpreter to break the ice. The rest had their interpreters and having breaks on seconds to think about their answers. Hands down, Ms. Philippines answered straight to the point.

The pageant was hosted by NBC "Today" anchor Natalie Morales and the Bravo network's Andy Cohen. Judges were celebrities including Connie Chung, supermodel Isabeli Fontana, Indy race car driver Helio Castroneves, Vivica Fox, Adrienne Maloof, Amelia Vega and Philippine international singer Lea Salonga.

You  are truly beautiful and amazing and so wonderful !!! God bless you, Shamcey!

"Congratulations, Shamcey! You make all Filipinos proud!"

Shamcey, 24, stands at five feet and seven and one-fourth inches tall and hails from General Santos City. She has a degree in BS in Architecture and graduated Magna Cum Laude from UP-Dilimam College of Architecture. She was the top 1 successful examinee of the Architect Licensure Examination held in June 2010.

You can view the list of top 10 architects held in June 2010 also in this website by clicking Top 10 Architects June 2010.