The Good Things About the VIVO V7+

If you haven't decided to get a phone yet despite receiving your Christmas bonus last month or last week, then you should take a look at the Vivo V7+. It's not rocket science, but if you compare to what it's got at this price point, the Vivo V7+ is indeed an excellent choice.

Imagine taking selfies with a monster 24 Megapixel front camera. With that huge image, you'll get the finer details of your face without you looking like a fading picture from the 50's. This Christmas though needs no excuse to take those fabulous Christmas spreads so you need a good 16MP back camera to make it so good of an image in social media. Add to that the ability to take UHD quality videos, it'll look very detailed on Youtube without you doing too much post processing because it's enough to impress. You'll love the Bokeh feature too as it blurs the crazy backgrounds and just puts emphasis on your good face, a thing we would all dearly love.

With a whopping 84.4% screen display, all those videos of your memories and entertaining movies would just be standing out from the usual binge watchers, you'll really see those Koreanovela stars with no pores up close without any hitches. With a Qualcomm Octacore processor, rendering videos, computing stuff and opening apps would be just a cinch, packs more power in a single smartphone. It's time you enjoy something you buy off the smartphone market because you'll love the Vivo V7+ definitely. 

It's used by your favorite stars, why shouldn't you right? 

TV5 and Brillante Mendoza Presents: Anak

Maybe, just maybe, it's not enough to have 3 movies made for TV to be shown on TV5. Oh yes because the ever brilliant Brillante Mendoza is adding another one to be shown on Sunday June 25 right on time after mothers day and fathers day to talk about family relationships, the love for mom and dads, sons and daughters and how it could go the lengths to weather pain, suffering and agony of bearing a child in a Filipino setting to make you ask if love alone in a family be okay or if it really exists.

Actors include the ever young and charming Romnick Sarmienta who plays Alex Ramos, Harlene Bautista who will be Marissa Ramos, Ms. Perla Bautista as Joy Bismarck, Bea Saw as Michelle Fernandez, Gay Quililan as Lydia Martinez and Kimmy Maclang as Beth Santos. They will make you understand how and why the Obando Fertility Rites have been done for years and how it has impacted the lives and faith of Filipinos here and around the world, to give them hope and be pregnant no matter what the odds are.

The show will come right after LAKBAI (show hosted by Baste Duterte) so make sure you tune in to the happiest network in the country the whole afternoon, right at TV5.

KUMAGCOW

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Brillante Mendoza Presents: Pagtatapos

A few days ago, we had the chance to watch the next movie made for TV made by brilliant Cannes Film Festival Awardee Brillante Mendoza (oh yes I said that!). This is part of the program Brillante Mendoza Presents shown o TV5 wherein they already released Tsinoy and Everlastig to coincide with the celebration of Chinese New Year and Panagbenga Festival in Baguio City both of which they've utilized lesser known actors. They did this to concentrate more on the story than the personalities and I think it's a good thing.

According to TV5's CEO, "It's not planned to go to festivals or make awards, we just have to be different and be an alternative. We took courage to embark on this and support Direk to do his best work. The first two, it hasn't been much into the taste yet but there is a reason to this partnership. 12 made for tv movies, we are working on a one year relationship. We want to be the home of different kind of producers, directors abd story tellers. The reality in todays medium is that we have to consider the entire journey of the content, the plan is to put this on video on demand directors cuts which we can show on digital content. Direk is working on the talents and there is room for good stories which we hopefully will bring. We are finding ways to bring you quality ones even on a limited depth of talent and hopefully develop more talents in the future as this is a transition, it's a business decision." - Coach Chot Reyes of TV5

"We do have professional and non professional actors and hopefully it will be shown internationally. We have our people go out and make location based movies made for tv and we have a process in place. This is an alternative, a film is a film, and we concentrate mostly on content rather than personalities. Like what I said in past interviews, they got me a go signal to have creative freedom and TV5 gave me that. We do need sponsors and ratings to survive but they got the challenge and didn't ask me to compromise. I don't think I had to lower the quality, and it will find it's audience. A story is a story, if I make a good story then that's where I'll give my all. On the business side, we have a unique budget, a bulk figure then just work with that in these movies made for TV. Everytime it's a different experience as we include the locals. I do realism, they say it's ultra neo realism but I did a different style in Japan which I plan to do also in my next projects.  You should watch out for that."- Direk Brillante Mendoza

Brillante Mendoza Presents: Pagtatapos will be showing this coming April 22, 2017 at 9:30PM. There will be a couple more in the coming months and these works of art will be available to people pretty soon on digital streaming services worldwide so you better get in the habit.

KUMAGCOW

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Aubrey Miles for Brillante Mendoza Presents: Everlasting

We wrote about this last December before the outing of the first installment of Brillante Mendoza Presents, of the world renowned visionary and Best Director at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival. 

All Saturdays of last month, they've released TSINOY, which was brought about by the depiction of Filipino Chinese families set in the famous Binondo district in Manila. This time however, he's taking the story telling up another notch by doing a very unique tale of love of two women (played by Aubrey Miles and indie queen Mercedes Cabral) and the struggles arise when people follow their dreams, and go through the hardships of love. Almost all the scenes are also shot in Baguoi while the annual PANAGBENGA festival is ongoing. Direk Brillante's take on this story is different but will be telling it all in detail so you get to understand where the characters are coming from. How do you reason with a dream? How do you argue with love on the line?

This may just be another month where your Saturday evenings will get the brunt of how TV5 is disrupting the television space. Imagine watching quality movie scenes each week right in the comfort of your own homes, wouldn't that be nice? Well take the chance to watch the show starting this March 25, 9:30PM on TV5. You don't have to pay a single cent to see what a Cannes Film Festival awardee is doing on public broadcast TV. The show will also be tackling lesbian relationships so make sure you would always explain things to kids as the characters set off to find their real happiness. Now if you think this program is pushing the envelope, you're just seeing the second story... there are more!

Make sure you stay tuned to TV5 9:30PM every Saturdays on the Kapatid Network!

For more information about their movie:

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http://brillantemamendoza.com

Harina Artisan Bakery Café

There are many things that a blogger can do and one of them is eat. I don't just eat though, because I am very picky about breads. I mostly love those freshly baked ones in hotels because those are made by chef-artisans. I didn't know there was one quite near my neighborhood. This is Harina Artisan Bakery Cafe!

This quaint all day breakfast store in 118 Katipunan Avenue, White Plains in Quezon City (who has SUPERB bread sticks btw!) embraces the notion of selling only the best artisanal breads (no artificial flavors or preservatives) this side of the metro without holding back on the freshest ingredients... a word of warning, it shows on their products. We had the best ones from the menu and tried them out one quaint morning. It looked pretty good!

Brunch is special. The Iced Tea, ahm I've got to be honest. It wasn't a special brew but it was alright. It's not sweet, encourages you to eat a bit because you'll feel refreshed in a hot afternoon.

This is the Chicken Caesar Sandwich. Much like the salad dish that they wanted to emulate, it takes a whole different level if you put in on toasty, crunchy bread. That thing makes a whole lotta difference because its really good. It's not a run of the mill commercial bakeshop thing, it's all pure unadulterated bread, with all the nice greens, crispy bacon, runny egg and mouthwatering dressing.

 

This is Harina's Bloomin' Bread. I had tons of this. Imagine that fresh yeast smell pouring out on soft pillowy center and that crunch you get on the outer shell. Dip it in herbed balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Heavenly.

This is their Waldorf Salad Sandwich. Light, filling and very tasty. Bread is croissant like. I love this and imagine I could go out for brunch with a friend eating just this.

This is their Breakfast Tart. Imagine flaky puff pastry topped with cream cheese, spinach, baked tomatoes, bacon and eggs. I'd recommend this for two people but if you are a little hungry this would be so easy. 

This awesome PBB and Chocolate-Stuffed French Toast is highly recommended. It's comfort food that is contained in your dreams... then come to reality. The toasty whole wheat bread isn't bad either. For the price you pay for this breakfast, totally worth it!

Nice and light, Strawberry Cheesecake Stuffed French Toast is just one of those dangerously looking calorie bombs that really isn't. We were surprised at how light and airy this was as compared to the other French Toast variant mentioned above. For health buffs, if you are to cheat... get this healthier alternative since its got fruit on it. But if an honest match goes, I'd rather choose the PBB Chocolate Stuffed French Toast because its more sinful.

Oh and if you are crazy with Cronuts, they've got their version too!

Sweet and flaky, you can get the Laminated Donuts in Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Blueberry Cheesecake variants. Good to take home.

Sweet and moist Chocolatey Brownie topped with Cream Cheese and Slivers of Fresh Strawberry and sides of sweet Red and Yellow Fruit Syrup. How can anyone say NO to this? Of course it's already gone after a few minutes!

DO NOT FORGET to take home a bunch of these scrumptious, sweet, decadent and wonderful Cinnamon Rolls. We can't have enough of this and it'll surely run out of the box in no time if you have kids or people like me looking at the box. Pretty good, another reason why you should make an effort to go and drop by the White Plains area. They are right in front of the row of the gardens on the side streets. Take my word for it and get the best artisan made products in a simple neighborhood store in Quezon City.

Harina Artisan Bakery Cafe is one place I could vouch for. For meetings, a small get together with friends and family, consider this a warning... if you don't try the place, you'll regret it.

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Harina Artisan Bakery Cafe

 

The Uncle Spoils His Nephews

I'm meeting my nephews this weekend because my cousins invited a lot of our relatives for their Mom's death anniversary. I know it is not much of a big deal for westerners but Filipinos have this culture of having strong family ties. Not that we do not know how to let go, but we celebrate their good lives... and we remember them together with our families. It is not conventional, but that is how we do things around here.

My nephews are cute, bar none. The two kids even had several photo sessions with a famous guy last year so they could put them into vitamin C ads and labels for kids. It was really nice seeing them on the drugstore counter... if it was needed I could have bought one myself ha-ha!

Well being the good Uncle that I am, I need to probably buy them stuff because we seldom see each other. No, it's not bribery or anything like that. It's just something to remember me by. I remember when I was a kid people did not even give me that much gifts weather it would be my birthday or Christmas. I checked out the latest gifts on line and found personalized children's plates. I know that would really be a good thing to get for them since they would be using it everyday. They also like to go to school too, so maybe getting them a toddler backpack would help them study harder while being the envy of the other kids.

I could also get his baby brother an ezy roller so his folks would not worry about him too much while traveling. I just want the best for them so I should get them the best toys in town. I hope someday, somehow they will remember the Uncle who spoiled them. I in fact remembered mine and that is what I would want to happen in the long run. I'm no psychologist but that really did wonders for me!

What would you get your kids if you were in my place? I'm sure its one of those!