NATIONAL DAYS OF MOURNING OVER THE PASSING OF SECRETARY JESSE M. ROBREDO FROM 21 AUGUST 2012 TO THE DATE OF HIS INTERMENT

Tweet

Proclamation No. 460, s. 2012

MALACAÑAN PALACE

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 460 

DECLARING NATIONAL DAYS OF MOURNING OVER THE PASSING OF SECRETARY JESSE M. ROBREDO FROM 21 AUGUST 2012 TO THE DATE OF HIS INTERMENT

WHEREAS, Secretary Jesse M. Robredo was appointed as the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and as a champion for good governance, was instrumental in the implementation of far-reaching reforms in local governance;

WHEREAS, Secretary Robredo served with utmost dedication as Mayor of Naga City from 1988 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010;

WHEREAS, his outstanding performance as Mayor of Naga earned him numerous awards such as the Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000, the first Filipino mayor to be conferred the distinction;

WHEREAS, the nation has lost one of its great leaders and public servants; and,

WHEREAS, his many virtues as a public servant have permanently earned for him the gratitude of the City he led, and the Republic he served.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the power vested in me by law, do hereby proclaim 21 August 2012 to the date of his interment as National Days of Mourning.

As provided for by law, for a period of six (6) days, the national flag shall be flown at half-mast from sunrise to sunset in all government buildings and installations in the Philippines and in our posts abroad.

Further, from 21 August 2012 until the date of interment, the flags shall be lowered to half-mast in Malacañan Palace, the City of Naga, and in all offices and installations of DILG, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Local Government Academy (LGA), National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC).

Done in the City of Manila, this 21^st day of August, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Twelve.

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

By the President:

(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA JR.Executive Secretary

Proclamation No. 460, August 21, 2012

Katy Perry : Part of Me in 3D

Tweet

The first woman in music history to produce five Number One singles off of one album, Katy Perry has scaled the heights of pop music stardom few have reached before her.  So when the artist invited two young filmmakers to tag along (and “catch everything on film—nothing off-limits”) as she circled the globe on her record-breaking “California Dreams Tour,” she thought it might produce something of interest to her legions of fans.  But it proved to be bigger than anyone could have predicted.

             

The result is the 3D movie music event of the summer—Katy Perry: Part of Me—a backstage pass, front row seat and intimate look at the fun, glamorous, heartbreaking, inspiring, crazy, magical, passionate and honest mad diary of Katy herself.

                

This is an intimate, fly-on-the-wall portrait of a natural born performer hitting the very peak of global popularity—the unflinching and ever-present cameras reveal the highs and the lows of Perry’s extraordinary trek, both personally and professionally.

The genesis of the project lies with the artist herself: 

“I could instinctively feel that something important was about to happen that year—it felt like this big wave was coming, and it felt like it was going to be a long one.  So, I reached out to two filmmakers and said, ‘Hi, guys, I’d like to you come on the road and document the ride.’”

               

That ride was a year long world tour – selling out 124 arena shows – across the United States, Europe, South America and the Far East, and cameras were able to not only capture the palpable excitement and fun of her live concerts, but also to follow Perry back to the ‘reality’ of her day-to-day life, away from the stage lights and candy-colored costumes.  Frank interviews with those who perhaps know the real Katy best—her family and her assembled family of “Team Perry”—offer glimpses into Perry’s background, as well as create a picture of a woman giving her all onstage…while pressing personal challenges await offstage. 

Per Katy:  

“This movie is a journey.  Last year, I had a year I’ll never be able to re-create…amazing highs and some big lows, but that’s life.  Everyone goes through the good and the bad, but it makes you stronger.  But no matter what, as with my live concerts, my ultimate goal with this movie is to make people smile.”

“Katy Perry : Part of Me” is released and distributed by United International Pictures through Solar Entertainment Corp. Katy Perry albums are available in the Philippines from PolyEast Records.

Sneak Peek Trailer of “THE CAMPAIGN”

Tweet

Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis join the political fray in Warner Bros.' new comedy “The Campaign” from director Jay Roach (“Meet the Fockers”)

Synopsis:

When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district.  Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. 

At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about.

As election day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy that takes today’s political circus to its logical next level.  Because even when you think campaign ethics have hit rock bottom, there’s room to dig a whole lot deeper.

“The Campaign” stars Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott and Katherine LaNasa, with John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd and Brian Cox. Directed by Jay Roach and written by Chris Henchy & Shawn Harwell, from a story by Adam McKay & Chris Henchy & Shawn Harwell, it is produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Jay Roach and Zach Galifianakis. Amy Sayres, Jon Poll and Chris Henchy serve as executive producers.

Opening across the Philippines this August, “The Campaign” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

LINKIN PARK Returns With Fifth Album, “LIVING THINGS”

Tweet

Living Things is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Linkin Park was scheduled for release last June 20, 2012. Production was handled by vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin, who both co-produced the band's previous studio albums Minutes to Midnight (2007) and A Thousand Suns (2010).

The band states that Living Things combines elements from their previous four studio albums to create a new sound. They stated they finally felt they were in "familiar territory" and "comfortable in their own skin" after years of experimentation that resulted in their two previous studio albums, Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns. Living Things was chosen as the album's title because of the numerous personal topics about people implemented on the album.

The lead single for the album, "Burn It Down", was sent to radio and released to digital music retailers on April 16, 2012.

Shinoda spoke to Co.Create about the album's art, saying that it will "blow them [the fans] away...the average person is not going to be able to look at it and go, I understand that that’s completely new, like not just the image but the way they made the image is totally new. So there’s going to be that." On April 9, 2012, the band released a teaser video for the album on Tumblr. Warner Bros. Records announced that the album's art will be released on April 16, 2012, the same day "Burn It Down" will be released.

On April 15, 2012, Mike Shinoda posted a blog update confirming that the new album title will be Living Things and that the album will be available for pre-order through their website, starting April 16. Living Things will be released on June 26, 2012. Pre-orders for the album began in April 17, 2012; upon purchase, fans will be subscribed to Living Things Remixed, remixed songs from the album. In celebration of the release of Living Things, the band teamed up with music streaming website Spotify to release live compilations of each album era.

The band had numerous influences and inspirations for Living Things. Shinoda told Rolling Stone that "Skin to Bone" and "Roads Untraveled" contained folk music influenced by the works of Bob Dylan, as well as the inspirations of Dylan. In the seventh track "Victimized", which Rolling Stone described as "the band's most aggressive track in years", were influenced by punk rock bands such as Pennywise and Dirty Rotten Imbeciles.Shinoda noted the minimal content of numerous punk rock songs attributed to the short length of "Victimized"; bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrel noted that the song's working title, "Battle Axe", "which to me is..what that song is; it's just this big 'crack' and then you're out." Like the band's first two albums, the penultimate song ("Tinfoil") is an instrumental. Brad Delson, the band's guitarist, had vocals in the tenth track "Until It Breaks", which was Delson's idea.

On March 28, 2012, Shinoda confirmed that the album's first single is "Burn It Down". On April 11, 2012, it was confirmed that it would be sent for radio airplay and released to iTunes digital download on April 16, 2012. Shinoda also confirmed they were filming a music video for the song, with the band's turntablist Joe Hahn directing the video. The band teamed up with the Lotus F1 team to create a musical racing iPad app entitled Linkin Park GP, where players drive a Lotus E20 and interact with an environment that allows the player to create a remix of "Burn It Down", as well as zooming into individual sections of the song. The music video for "Burn It Down" premiered on MTV on May 24, 2012.

Living Things is now released globally and being distributed in the country  by Warner Music Philippines.

Rico Blanco is back with a new album "AMATS"

Tweet

Four years after his album "Your Universe" released in 2008, Rivermaya's former front man Rico Blanco now brings us to another universe in which his music continues to evolve. The singer/songwriter's new album is entitled "Galactik Fiestamatik".

One of the album's track, "Amats", finally made it to the MYX Daily Top 10. The song is a new wave genre, different from your old school poprock. The rock icon has put the emotion of being infatuated or almost been carried away by unreasoned passion or love in the track.

From MYXph.com:

The much awaited second album will take you to a festive adventure that is ethnic, folk, punk and futuristic all at once. All songs of which are Blanco's signature songwriting. Plus, altogether performed and recorder by the mastermind himself in his very own studio attic. "I wanted the album to sound more abrasive, more flawed than correct, " says the singer. So, expect this album to be deeply personal and as if Rico Blanco himself is singing beside you.

The carrier single, "Amats", is a song of infatuation that's almost stalker-ish. Rico reveals, "I wondered, what if I make it dark, talagang amats? It becomes more dangerous... you feel on the edge, uncomfortable."

 “Amats” is surely to join Blanco’s collection of masterpieces that have captured our hearts through the years. As a Filipino rock icon highly regarded for his ingenuity and dedication to his craft, it’s only fitting that Blanco’s latest endeavor deserves no less than a worldwide release to satisfy fans across the globe.

The track "Amats" is available on iTunes worldwide.

Rico Blanco - Amats [Official Music Video HD]