Miss USA - photo from helenareet.com

Miss Philippines - Janine Tugonon photo from helenareet.com

Right now people watching the Miss Universe 2012 are very much excited to know who will be this year's crowned Miss Universe.

As of this writing the candidates where down to TOP 5 and they are MS. PHILLIPINES - JANINE TUGONON, MS. USA - OLIVIA CULPO, MS. VENEZUELA - IRENE ESSER, MS. BRAZIL - GABRIELA MARKUS, MS. AUSTRALIA - RENAE AYRIS.   It seems that all of them did great with the question and answer.

So we awaits who will be the MISS UNIVERSE 2012.

Kids and kids-at-heart are always looking forward for this happiest day of the year.  Not only that they'll be receiving gifts but everyone will have a chance to go on a bonding moment with family while watching movies and December 25 is the Metro Manila Film Festival so everyone will have lots of movies to enjoy. 

Here's one of the much anticipated comedy treat from Star Cinema, the "Sisterakas".

Two years ago, two of the biggest names in the movie industry joined forces to bring a box-office movie for the moviegoers and it was truly a hit.  Now, two isn't enough to make a grandest movie for the movie lovers in which they've included another box-office hit maker in the scene.  Making three of the renowned artist in the movie industry packed in one extra special movie not only for the kids but for all ages, Si Agimat, Si Enteng Kabisote at Si Ako.

This year's MMFF, two of the formidable giants of the local filmmaking world - Vic Sotto and Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. - once again join their stelalr powers and listed the services of an equally bankable actress in the person of Ms Judy Ann Santos, to come up with this next adventure-filled chapter of heroic exploits.

NE-YO fans out there here's something new to satisfy your ear palate. From the press release of MCA Music.

R.E.D. (an acronym for Realizing Every Dream), is the upcoming fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. The album is Ne-Yo's first album with new label Motown Records after being appointed as the label's senior vice president for A&R. The album contains songs that crossover different genres of music, combining elements of R&B, pop and dance-pop.

Cupcakes have always been an easy target for snacks. Aside from being a bite size it is much a available and will always be available on grocery stores. Of course those are the manufactured ones created and produced by bulk. It is an unauthentic flavor for it is baked to last quite sometime.


Before the holiday I was able to visit the place where other food critics had made their opinions about the sweetest and tasteful cup cakes, the Au's Cakes. Yes, these cupcakes are found not in a fancy bakery or cake houses but was only displayed in one of the stalls in a weekend market in a subdivision, Philam life.

Last week, one of my correspondent, aka Justin was able to hear one of the bands in the country.  As Justin story tell this album launch of Gracenote, we were listening to the songs.  It's all packed and filled with their great music.  For those who hasn't heard the band Gracenote and their music here's a video and a their music as they perform.

CANCELLED!  Why?  Well we don't know the reason but according to the organizers it will be scheduled next year on February.

This is their press release  before it got cancelled!

Get ready for the BIGGEST CONCERT of the year! Korean rapper PSY, who captured world attention and recognition with his viral hit song, “Gangnam Style”, will wow Filipino fans when he performs his amusing dance moves at a special dance concert on December 20, 2012, 9 in the evening at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Promoters Renen de Guia of Ovation Productions and Joed Serrano of That’s Entertainment said Manila has been included in the K-pop sensation’s tour dates in Asia and other parts of the globe as a special Christmas treat for millions of fans who have been avidly following Psy and his music on YouTube and other social networks. According to them, this one-night-only concert will also feature an all-star cast composed of some of the biggest and hottest names in local showbiz who have been especially picked and assembled to perform with Psy in his historic Manila debut.

Big Outlet Sale Alert!  To all the readers watching out for a sale alert and looking for some great buys this holiday, here's something that you might get interested with.

The BIG Holiday Outlet Sale 2012
WHEN: December 21-23, 2012, 10a-9p
WHERE: SMX Convention Center, Hall 4, Mall of Asia Complex
WHAT: Sponsored by BPI Edge, SM Cinemas and e-PLUS
Up to 80% off on select merchandise from major brands
Free entrance to BPI + e-PLUS cardholders (w/ valid ID)
Hourly raffle draws for BPI Edge cardholders (1 raffle coupon per P1000 minimum receipt)

If you have watch the video for “Scream & Shout,” the new single from multi-platinum producer and songwriter will.i.am and featuring Britney Spears, then you'll definitely going to be in awe as it has racked up nearly 18 million views on VEVO since its premiere on November 28th.  It was directed by Ben Mor and can be seen at http://vevo.ly/SreWo2.  The song is also featured in the new TV campaign for BEATS BY DRE, which can be seen at http://youtu.be/N6vTMVwMI8A.

Charming, witty, and down-to-earth personality, this is what made this online heartthrob Kimpoy Feliciano to a massive online followers in cyberspace. From twitter, facebook, tumblr, to youtube the number of his followers are no less than six digits. With this phenomenon it paved way for doors of opportunity.

Kimpoy was able to launched his self-titled debut album which is produced by Universal Records to a number of supportersf who packed the SM Manila Entertainment Center. The album includes the hit Ikaw Lang, which topped the www.mymusicstore.com.ph charts for two weeks and figured prominently in the MYX Daily Top 10 for almost three weeks.

As me and my wife celebrated our wedding anniversary last December 15, The Roadhouse Manila Bay celebrated their 1st Anniversary as well and gladly we were invited to this blues jamming night. You may call it a date as well because both of us were very happy together hearing the good old blues music, though she’s not a real fan of blues music. As I can remember I’ve heard Pinoy Blues way back when one of the radio networks was still airing and playing good rocking Pinoy music. I really love the music. The rhythm is just like the sweeping ride of bikes along the mountain side and no wonder bikers are present there. They too love the music.

The Trophy

As we all know bloggers have indeed been one of the partners of different companies and brands.  Bloggers have made brands and companies rank high in the search engines, become well known to most of the people online, and perhaps bloggers have placed these brands to the heart of the consumers.  We, the bloggers, have been their partner online.


Since it's the month of December and it is the month of merry making, eating, parties, gifts, and sharing, one of our well love brand of Max's Restaurant made an exclusive night for the bloggers, the Bloggers' Got Talent.  Yes, the bloggers were treated for a night of merry making, eating, gifts, and raffles.  No bloggers came home empty handed.  Max's has indeed made an early Christmas gift during that night.


Of course all parties are not complete without the singing portion and to be fare to everyone present during that night, it was a raffle of who will sing first.  This means everyone did sing even Sir Bob of Max's and the staff of Bright Ideas.

It was a fun a night! Thank you Max's Restaurant and Bright Ideas and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Over the years people get addicted to things that he or she loves to do and at present one of the most prominent thing for a person to do while in the house is none other than watch TV.   Slouch on the sofa, get the remote, press and start choosing a channel.  That's it and we're hooked!

For me, there are certain aspects or criteria to like a TV station.  One must have a good set of programs enticing enough to get me fixated, right timing or schedules of the programs, and perhaps relevance of the programs to the viewers. Hahaha! I'm sounding like a professional TV viewer! But I'm not. Well, it's just my own opinion.

For those who loves Rock 'n Roll very much here's something that will entice your eardrums more as the No. 1 Music Company in the Philippines, MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines), is very pleased to announce the release of GRRR! by The Rolling Stones which is available in a three-CD 50 track collection that tells the fascinating ongoing story of the Greatest Rock ’n Roll Band In The World, from their high octane version of Chuck Berry’s “Come On”, their first single issued in June 1963, via the thrilling chart-toppers “The Last Time”, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”, “Get Off Of My Cloud”, “Jumping Jack Flash”, “Honky Tonk Women” and the perennial juke-box and concert favorites “Brown Sugar”, “Tumbling Dice”, “Miss You” and “Start Me Up”, all the way to the present day with the inclusion of “Doom And Gloom” and “One More Shot”, two new studio recordings recently completed by the group in Paris, France in August 2012.

Hear the music and see in live action, the Korean sensation and the number one guru of Gangnam Style. Yes, this is one heck of a good news to all Psy and Gangnam Style fans because Psy will be here in Manila this coming December 20, 2012 and this is for a night concert only.

Psy and his Gangnam Style has indeed raided the music industry not only in Asia but also in other countries. It has been a trend now and almost every person that you can find knows how to do the Gangnam Style. Trust me, even the kids does!

’12-12-12’ promises an explosive live concert featuring a staggering all-star lineup of musical artists that includes Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Alicia Keys, Chris Martin, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Eddie Vedder, Roger Waters, Kanye West, The Who, and Paul McCartney.

On December 12, 2012, the whole world will witness the music industry’s most outstanding performers as well as the entertainment world’s biggest names come together for the benefit of those who suffered in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Star World brings “12-12-12,” a momentous telethon that features an explosive live concert at Madison Square Garden in New York, to viewers across Asia on Wednesday morning at 8:30 AM, doing its part to make it the most widely distributed live musical event in history. The channel joins other media partners on TV, radio and the Internet to reach 2 billion people worldwide, giving “12-12-12” a widespread distribution on par with huge global media events such as the Superbowl, the Academy Awards and the Grammys.

How many of you have seen or heard this random girl who became viral and a youtube sensation?  Well I'm sure only few people would say they haven't seen or heard her.  So who was this person?  Well it's none other than Zendee, the lovely girl who sung in a mall which her back and her backpack was only seen from the video.   After booming with that popularity, she became known and landed a spot on The Ellen DeGeneres show.

For me it was an opportunity being a part of the group that was able to witness and hear Zendee's first ever single.  Yes, she is now officially a recording artist.  This December 12, she releases her first single entitled "Runaway" under Warner Music Philippines.   As I heard it during the conference it was really a very soulful voice and if I didn't know that it was Zendee singing I could really mistaken her for a foreign singer.


According to her "having my own song is something that I used to just imagine.  Singers recording songs in studios were something that I used to just watch on TV.  I never thought that I will also be able to do it and with a major label at that!  I feel so blessed, this is really a dream come true!"  During the conference she was really thankful to all the blessings that are coming her way.

Her first ever single "Runaway" was about not allowing difficulties to get in the way of your dreams, just like Zendee did.  According to her as well she loves to write and sing songs that tells the story of other people.  The song "Runaway" was written by Andrew Fromm, who has also written for the likes of The Backstreet Boys, Nsync and K-ci & Jojo.  His songs appear in over 45 million albums worldwide and he is quite excited to work with a world class Filipino talent like Zendee.  Fromm shares "I'm honored to have co-written a song that I hope will skyrocket Zendee to #1.  She has a fantastic voice.  It's always insanely exciting to watch such a gifted artist record and release a song you pour your heart into.  That said, i wish Zendee nothing but the absolute best and I pray wherever Runaway is released, it's embraced by all.

Aside from being Zendee's first single and first song as a recording artist, "Runaway" is also the first local recording to be mastered for iTunes for the Philippines by Warner Music Philippines and Asia Pacific,  This means that the recording is digitally optimized for increased audio quality in digital format.

Checkout Zendee's "Runaway" single on iTunes and also get the latest updates with about Zendee.

Independent Filipino owners Rafael and Regina Vinzon hosted the Grand Launch Party for Cocoon Boutique Hotel last October 25, 2012 at the Grand Ballroom of the hotel.

If you want to watch a movie that touches the heart and tackles about family this Christmas, then this is the right one for you, "One More Try".  Four of the country's sensual stars Angel Locsin, Angelica Panganiban, Zanjoe Marudo and Dingdong Dantes will make this Christmas season more hotter as they topbill "One More Try", Star Cinema's much awaited top caliber dramatic offering this 2012 Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF).

An early Christmas get together of all the members of the Filipino Bloggers Hub was held at the Cocoon Hotel last December 2. According to the admins this is to avoid conflict with the group celebration. Well they really did not made conflict with the other group and made all the members had their early Christmas gift as most of the attendees in the FBH Christmas party were able to take home some great goodies from the sponsors.


Thanks to the organizers and to the sponsors that Kwento Ni Toto were able to mingle with the other members and take home some great goodies. Santa seems to find me nice this year and gave me some surprising gifts.

Anyway it was really a fun night and wonderful celebration of early Christmas. Wonderful bloggers friends and great group. And to all the sponsors The Cocoon Boutique Hotel, San Marino, King Sue, Bo's Coffee, iFlick, Cadbury, Pinoy Master Grill, Cebu Boy Lechon,San Miguel Brewery, Baja Mexican Cantina, and Crystal Clear thank you very much and Merry Christmas.

MCA Music Awardees at the 25th Awit Awards (L-R): Tricia Garcia (Best Jazz Recording for "Sa Iyo Lang"), Johnny Alegre of Humanfolk (Best World Music Recording for "Para Sa Tao"), MCA Music President Ricky R. Ilacad and Asia's Acoustic Sweetheart Sabrina (Most Downloaded Artist)

MCA Music artists took home honors at the 25th Awit Awards held recently at the Glorietta Activity Center. Asia’s acoustic sweetheart Sabrina was the recipient for the second year as I-Gateway Mobile Philippines Inc.’s “Most Downloaded Artist”.

Noel Cabangon’s 2011 release Panaginip is undoubtedly the most awarded album of 2011 having been named Acoustic Album of the Year of the Star Awards for Music, the Secular Album of the Year of the Catholic Mass Media Awards, and the Album of the Year of the Awit Awards. This 3-peat-victory may well be considered a grandslam.

Does anyone smells something brewed in Bo's Coffee? Well there are some great coupons, sketches, and a lot of Philippine coffee fun facts which are incorporated in their latest The Coffee Book 2013. They wanted to give something that could still keep even after the year is over, which is why this gorgeous planner book features original artworks and a lot interesting tidbits about the Philippines and the coffee it offers.

Pop superstar Rihanna has reached the peak of Billboard Hot 100 significantly at the end of her headline-grabbing "777 Tour" where she toured, via a Boeing 777 plane, to seven cities in seven days highlighted by a concert in each stop -- all for the purpose of promoting her 7th album "Unapologetic."

Acoustic singer, TV and movie star and versatile theater actress Aiza Seguerra has been reaping critical acclaims for her musical theater performances. Recently, she has been awarded by Aliw Awards the Best Featured Performance in a Musical trophy for her stint as hippie Regina in the local staging of Rock of Ages.

The best music this Christmas season is from MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines)!

Check out these holiday releases that are guaranteed ‘must-haves’ this yuletide season:

Have you ever been to a Grand Eyeball? Well me, I haven't! So this will be something new and something exciting to look forward to. I wanted to be a part as the Facebook Group hails its first ever Grand Eyeball!

Finally! After over a year of inception, Filipino Bloggers Worldwide (FBW), in partnership with Ex-Links Events, presents Filipino Bloggers Worldwide: The 1st Grand Eyeball.

After watching the Supremo this Bonifacio Day, November 30, memories of my college days flashed.  It was the time that I learned and realized how educated and influential Andres Bonifacio is.  Also that was the time I learned things about unwritten events in history.  I really should know about this because it's what I love.

How would you feel if you meet the worlds most known cartoon character?  Well, even though that I'm not a big fan of that cartoon character I would still be delighted and honored to meet her.  And who knows when will it happen again so just grab on with the opportunity and get into the flow.

I thought World Toilet Day was just a made up day and I thought that it was a joke but to my surprise it wasn't a joke at all.   World Toilet Day is observed annually on November 19 and it aims to put a spotlight on the 2.5 billion people across the globe who do not have access to clean, private and functional toilets.  So this World Toilet Day is really serious because it wants to eradicate or at least lessen the millions of inectious diseases brought by poor sanitation in public restrooms.

image form http://www.wisegeek.com

Every year we've all been expecting for something to have during Christmas.  Whether it is small or big, useful or not, one thing is sure... we love to receive gifts from people that we love.  But of course we shouldn't forget the center of this season, Christ.  I want Christ to be my priority LIKE for this coming holiday that's why I'll be having this holiday themed as "CHRIST-MUST".  A must have before anything else.   Then GOOD HEALTH for our family and FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

Community living in an urban setting has been an elusive concept with the flurry of high and low-rise developments currently taking place in the busiest of locations. As an advocate of making life more meaningful via community-living, the Lions Park Residences lives by this ideal.

27 November 2012; Manila, Philippines: The Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology has announced that the country has recently won the bid to hold the 3rd Biennial Scientific Meeting, one of the most prestigious medical events in Asia. Slated on November 27 to 29, 2012 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel Manila, the country is expected to welcome over 400 key delegates from the United States, Germany, Italy, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, China, Singapore, India and Thailand. Among the topics to be discussed are the globalization of eye banking, eye infection and the use of contact lenses, LASIK for vision correction, new treatment for dry eye disease and stem cell therapy for ocular surface reconstruction.

For all Kimpoy Feliciano fans this is your chance to see him and perhaps get a chance to have an autograph, as online heartthrob Kimpoy Feliciano will be launching his debut album this November 30, 4 p.m., at the Entertainment Center of SM City Manila. The album includes the hit single Ikaw Lang, which topped www.mymusicstore.com.ph and MYX Charts.

To all Phillip Phillips fans out there!  Here's something to read about Phillips from Rolling Stone.

This is a debut album from season 11 American Idol winner, Phillip Phillips. The album includes Phillip's coronation song, "Home".

It seems that Pinoy Christmas celebration or the early preparation for Christmas has indeed inflicted other nationsins and people.  Some of the people got inspired were the Brewer Boys and as a result here's their Christmas music video.  Watch and listen to their Christmas song and feel the early carol from the Brewer Boys.

The launch of iTunes in Asia, particularly in the Philippines, has made both local and international music universal and readily available for everyone. Last June 2012, the biggest online media store in the world,made a grand debut in Asia as it opened in twelve territories including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines making it easier for customers in the region to buy and download music and videos. Check out this year’s hottest album releases on iTunes Philippines only from MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines):

Thirty years after the song “Be My Lady” have been one of the most favourite love songs of OPM and as the rise of the Concert King Martin Nievera, PolyEast Records celebrates a legendary career with the release of the album MARTIN NIEVERA 3D: Tatlong Dekada.

Twenty five years into the business and Ogie Alcasid has established himself as one of the most successful hitmakers and most prolific songwriters of the Philippine music industry. In celebration of this milestone, Universal Records is releasing his most ambitious project, the 18 track album The Songwriter And The Hitmakers.

SM City Manila centerpiece

Christmas! It is the day that kids are waiting for. This is the day that they are longing to come aside from their birthdays. It is the season of receiving gifts for the kids and giving gifts for the kids-at-heart. It is the season of giving and sharing.

If Chef Marvin Agustin is a dish I would say his mother really knows the ingredients very well. A right amount of time, a chunkful of love, a sprinkle of teachings and a pack of Knorr for an exquisite bonding moment. Stir with understanding, perseverance, and talent plus a glassful amount of happiness will make a Chef Marvin Agustin.

Christmas has been and always will be the happiest moment for most of us. Not just because of having gifts and parties but also being with our loveones in a very meaningful day of the year. From the start of the ber month, people starts their countdown for the big day which is the Christmas. As it gets closer and closer, people becomes busier and busier planning and decorating for Christmas.

After signing with Universal Music in October 2011, UK Music Hall of Fame’s Greatest Artist of the 90s, ROBBIE WILLIAMS, arrives with his forthcoming ninth studio album entitled “TAKE THE CROWN”, set for nationwide release on November 19, 2012 under MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines).