Eiga Sai 2011 Davao City Screening Schedule and Dates revealed!

The Japan Foundation in celebration of the Philippines-Japan Friendship Month, presents the annual celebration of Japanese contemporary films though Eiga Sai. Films will be shown in Gaisano Grand Citi Mall this coming July 22-24, 2011 with enlish sub-titles.

Admission is Free!!

Eiga sai 2011 films to be shown together with “Departures” are:

1.“The Summit: Chronicle of Stones (Tsurigidake: Ten No Ki)”

2. “The Chef of South Polar (Nanyoku Ryorinin)”

3. ”One Million Yen Girl (Hyakumanen To Nigamushi)”

4.“Your Friend (Kimino Tomidachi)”

5. “Yunagi City, Sakura Country (Yunagi No Machi, Sakura No Kuni)”

6. “Summer Days with Coo (Kappa No Coo to Natsu-Yasumi)”

7. “Climber's High (Kuraimazu Hai)”

8. “Feel the Wind (Kaze Ga Tsuyoku Fuiteru)”

9. “Villon's Wife (Villon No Tsuma)”

 

 

Gaisano Grand Citimall, Davao

Date		Time	Length	Title (English)	Ratings
22-Jul	Fri	4:00pm	125 mins	Your Friend
		6:30pm	131 mins	Departures
23-Jul	Sat	11:00am	121 mins	One Million Yen Girl
		1:30pm	125 mins	The Chef of South Polar
		4:00pm	139 mins	The Summit: A Chronicle of Stones
		7:00pm	145 mins	Climber's High
24-Jul	Sun	11:00am	118 mins	Yunagi City, Sakura Country
		1:30pm	1:38 mins	Summer Days with Coo
		4:30pm	133 mins	Feel the Wind
		7:15pm	114 mins	Villon's Wife

Organized by the Consular Office of Japan in Davao

A short visit at Chavit Singson's Baluarte!

If you happen to be in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, then it is a must to visit Chavit Singson's Baluarte!

Baluarte is an interactive wildlife sanctuary and facility, with the breathtaking view of its dominating scenic boulders amidst trees and greens. It is owned by no less than Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson. Entering the animal sanctuary is free of charge it is just a few minutes away from the town proper.

To get there, it is either you rent a horse driven carriage(Calesa) or hire a tricycle going there.

The facility is especially a big crowd drawer for family outing, activities such as animal feeding, petting, riding the "tiburin", a small horse-drawn carriage, and visiting our Butterfly Garden will surely be an extraordinary adventure for family.

The place was already featured in national television, Indeed the place is really huge and it is surrounded by trees. The most prominent structure is the huge golden building which can be seen from afar. On top of the building is the famous golden tree which the Chinese usually have as a symbol of prosperity to come inside the house. As you go inside the sanctuary the next prominent structure is the giant dinosaur.

Ostriches, deers are roaming around freely on the grounds, the small ponies, ducks are caged and can be feed during heir feeding time.

Visiting the place is worth your while, I was there too early and they said that more visitors are there during weekends and in the afternoon!

The best Halo-halo up North is San Fernando, La Union's Halo-halo de Iloko!

Looking for a special place to get your cravings for Halo-halo took me up North in San Fenando, La Union!

I was passing by La Union going to Vigan, Ilocos Sur to see the old city that was still preserved. I asked some people on the bus going there if there are anything sort of good food or dessert to taste in the region which is not the traditional food from the region. I got an answer and they say that I should pass by San Fernando, La Union and taste their Halo-halo there at "Halo-halo de Iloko".

I did and I was not disappointed at all. The place is easy to look for, just ask any tricycle driver and they will surely bring you to "Halo-Halo de Iloko"! The place looks so small from the outside and once you go in you can see that the place has its own character. As I arrived in the place around past 2 in the afternoon, there were only one table that was occupied. I ordered and wow tha Halo-halo was tempting. The taste was awesome and it took me 5 minutes to eat it all.

If you ever go to the Ilocos Region up north don't forget to pass by and have a Halo-halo!

Davao's best baby back ribs only at Purple Angel Cuzina!

Purple Angel Cuzina is a newly opened restaurant located at Patnubay St. Phase 2, Sandawa Road (just across 911) Matina Davao City.

I came to know the restaurant through a friend of mine, Naprey Almario who invited me to visit the place ans have a taste of one of Davao City's best kept secret and the best, the most tender and reasonably priced Baby Back Ribs you can get. I was really impressed and that's what I got when i get there. I got to try their Boneless Chicken Barbeque, Vegtable Salad with Shrimp for appetizer, Chicken and Mushroom Crepe and for dessert their Banana Choco Chip Cupcake.

The restaurant also does catering services for birthdays, debut, meetings, and other events at a very reasonable price. You can contact them at 299-1100 and (0922) 861-0373. for inquiries and reservation. They are open from Monday-Saturday.

The owner is Angelic Andama Garcia, a mother who want to have a business that is also near the school where her children are going. The location is just a few meters away from Ateneo de Davao Matina branch. She has a passion for cooking and also a loving mother to watch over her kids while they are at school and at the same time make money while waiting for the kids to finish their school day. Before opening the restaurant she was aready busy with her pastries being delivered to different coffe shops and stores in the city. So, she decided to put up the restaurant so that other mothers who are busy can also bring their kids during lunch break and spend some time with them during lunch break. Thus the place is have table for kids, activity area and some toys to keep them busy. The store is open at around 7:00 a.m. and closes at 7:00 p.m.! Since they now serves breakfast, thus they open very early.

The business is busy especially during school days and it is already becoming a place for the school kids and their parents. The restaurant is also Wi-Fi equipped.

You can also check out articles about the restaurant by Naprey Alamrio, James Malibiran and you can also like them on Facebook!

Travel Photography Seminar a journey to better travel photos!

Last May 26-31 of this year, I attended the Travel Photography Workshop, just one of the summer photo workshop conducted by Mr. Eugene Lara of Paragon Images Plus, who is now based in Davao City!

I first attended his basic photo workshop back in 2005, it was the first time that I met Eugene. I was desperate then at that time to learn the basics of photography. It was at that time when the basic photo seminars are very rare here in Davao City. Unlike today, there are a lot of people conducting photo workshops left and right. That was the time where I learned the basic of photography that enhances my ability to take a better picture and through practice it also enhances my talent (if you can call it that way) in photography.

The only thing that excites me with this workshop is that it is a three hour lecture for the consecutive three days. The information that you get on a day to day basis is just the right information that we can process and remember. The lectures are more on the how to do's  and don'ts in taking picture.How to make our picture more interesting not only to us but also the viewers like our friends and family so that they can also see and experience what we saw on our vacation. Since most of us we usually take pictures of ourselves in front of the camera and we tend to forget what other interesting things there are that can still be photographed.

The most exciting and challenging time we had was when we have our actual photo shoot in Malagos Garden Resort and at the Crocodile Park with the fire dancer at night. There you have to make do of what you can. But, before that we were told to make a list of what we are going to take photos of. The travel basics on the place where you are going to travel, take as much information about the place, places to see, its people, architecture,still life, flora and fauna, and special events if there are any when you get to your destination.

Travel gears preparation,accessories and things to bring along. Actual photoshoot, things to expect and the weather conditions can greatly affect the outcome of your photos. Then shooting on lacation, editing your image, preparing for presentation, and sharing it to your friends and viewers.

That  are just some of the things that we learned on our travel photography workshop.

The best was when we have our presentation, we shared what photos we have and then it was analyzed, what needs improvement, what was missing  and some inputs that will help us in our next photo shoot. It was really helpful to make us improve our craft and strive to get better photos the next time.

If you are interested Eugene Lara of Paragon Images Plus always gives photography workshops anytime of the year and most of the workshops are done during summer time. If you can create a group of minimum of 8 persons he is willing to conduct a workshop anywhere in the Philippines.

Pinoys are more concerned about germs in their hands than in their mouth!

Pinoys are very much afraid of germs and they take alcohol with them anywhere to eliminate germs on their hands, but do they take extra care to eliminate oral disease-causing germs from their mouths? You are absolutely wrong there.

Did yo know that one mouth can have more germs than there are people on earth and emerging science suggests that some of these germs may be linked with chronic diseases. Oral health should not be taken lightly which is why I advise my patients to brush, floss and rinse with a therapeutic mouthwash twice a day and of course, visit their dentist regularly to prevent problems and keep their mouths healthy.

Majority of Pinoys buy hand sanitizers and alcogels to get rid of germs in their hands and they often forget to bring any tooh brush and mouth wash with them, when they travel to school or office.

To keep our mouth healthy we need to do more than just brush to keep their mouths healthy, only one in ten floss or rinse with mouthwash in the morning, and less than 10 percent see a dentist twice a year for preventative visits. The fact is that many people don't realize that brushing only cleans approximately 25 percent of your mouth. Regular visit to your dentist  to check on the caries and calcular deposits on their teeth is a must twice a year.

Germs in the mouth multiply and can become embedded in a thick layer called plaque biofilm. When this happens, these biofilm germs become much more difficult to kill by simply brushing and flossing, and are more likely to cause problems such as bad breath and more seriously,gingivitis. Left untreated, gingivitis can increase the potential for advanced gum disease, which emerging science suggests could be linked with greater health problems.

A scientifically study was conducted and proves that there is a link between poor oral health and chronic illness, including diabetes and heart disease.

Did you know that if you have poor oral health there are a lot of thins that you will miss out to, like eating your favorite foods, smiling in a photograph, kissing your loved ones, and work because of dental problems such as tooth pain, cavities and gingivitis.

Dont miss out on those things and visit your dentist or Ortiz Dental Clinic in Davao City and renew your smile!

Don't you think that people with poor oral health are untidy and unhygienic?

13th Philippine Eagle Week starts this weekend!

THE annual celebration for the endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) begins this weekend and is celebrated every June 4-10 as mandated by Presidential Proclamation No. 79 (February 24, 1999),with various festivities in Davao City.

The Philippine Eagle Week, is on its 13th year in celebrating the beauty and symbolism of the Philippine Eagle and the richness of the Philippine environment, encourage responsible enjoyment of wildlife, and bring attention to what can be done to ensure that natural resources continue to benefit future generations.

The the Philippine Eagle Foundation spokes person Tatit Quiblat said:

"A pair of Philippine Eagles needs at least 7,000 to 13,000 hectares of forest as a nesting territory; the Philippines lost about 270,000 hectares of forest a year between 2000-2005, according to a UN Food and Agriculture Office study in 2005."

"If we are losing that much forest, it's not only the Philippine Eagle population that suffers; the flooding, landslides, problematic water supply, and other effects of deforestation have been affecting and will continue to affect the Filipino people too."

"We need to seriously look at investing in enforcing laws to keep existing forests intact and rehabilitating damaged environments, rather than incurring losses to business and agriculture and spending millions in relief efforts whenever disaster strikes."

The 13th edition of the Eagle Week is extended to June 12, to create a twin celebration of the national bird and Philippine Independence Day.

Activities include the GreenMob Opening Parade on June 4, and the SAYAgila Interbarangay Dance Contest which concludes on June 11.