Why Is It So Good To Be Filipino?

I love being Filipino. I like growing up in a democratic country. I even like the fact that no matter how poor the country is, we all remain happy and resilient. I love the use of "po" and "opo" to show respect to elders. I love our family ties and how close this unit is plus our extended families. I love how much value we put to our loved ones and make them a priority above everyone else. I love how in times of trouble, we still think of others and do what we can to help them no matter how big or small that is.

I love how predominantly Catholic our country is and what good traits we seem to have gotten with the religious belief. I love how we make God the center of everything and call to him in times of need, to ultimately... never lose hope. I also love how we have basketball courts in every street, even the NBA gets amazed by that.

I love how free we are to listen and create music without any government stopping us or filtering our words for that matter. I love how we appreciate the smallest things, from sipping nectar off a santan flower, to fighting with spiders, to flipping cards and making bubbles with hibiscus flowers. I love how we can always play outside and never care how haggard we get when we were still kids. I love our we all made the "mall culture" when so many of us spend time there to enjoy shopping or just getting air conditioned.

I love how we can easily adapt with other cultures, our ability to understand and speak English and encompass language barriers because of our innate characteristic of being nice and welcoming. I love the fact that we are all connected, from Facebook, Twitter or Instagram we are one of the worlds largest in terms of social network activity. We even held the number 1 spot in 2011. I love that we have a LOT of beauty queens. Just look around you, look how beautiful our Filipinas are. I love how we inherited a glorious past, where heroes abound every province and city depicting how they all made sacrifices for the three stars and the sun. I love being a Filipino, there are a million reasons why. Have you asked yourself that question lately? You should watch this!

Anna and Marcus already showed you how good it is to be Filipino. I'd like to enjoin YOU and the WHOLE NATION to answer this question on your social media channels... Now tell us...

Bakit ang #SarapMagingPilipino ?

(Why is it so good to be a Filipino?)

For more information about their stores:

Jollibee

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http://www.jollibee.com.ph

Toni Gonzaga's 7th Album: Celestine

It looks so promising as Ultimate Multimedia Star unleashes another album under Star Records called "CELESTINE". Listen as Toni gets a little overboard and personal on the songs because she had a hand in choosing all of these. Add to that her own compositions and not just another remake but her own version of well loved songs in the album.

It contains an upbeat/trance like song called "The Love Is Like" which she co wrote with Jonathan Manalo. You'll also love the more romantic song "Awit Ni Ginny" which consequently she wrote while on the set of the movie Starting Over Again. She also has that same movie's song interpreted her way which was more refreshing as we heard her sing during the launch. The album all in all has 10 tracks , but you've got to watch out for her original compositions "Got You", "Finally", "Sweetest Song", "Oh Boy", "Di ba halata", "Kahit Na" (Remixed) and the remix version of "This Love Is Like" done and produced by Chris Lopez. I hope this gets to major clubs soon. 

"Celestine" is now available in record bars and stores nationwide. It's only 250 bucks so it's dirt cheap for a very personal album with feel good music. This is how you'll feel, in love and happy. you can also download it off iTunes, Amazon, MyMusicStore.ph and Starmusic.ph. 

You know you want this! :)

For more information about her album:

star records phil

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http://www.starrecords.ph

On His Self Titled Debut Album: James Wright

Say hello to good looking James Wright!

We got to spend an afternoon with one of GMA's newest artists James Wright. You might mistake him for a full foreign chap but no, he's a half Aussie - Pinoy who lived most of his life in Hong Kong. His chiseled and sculptured physique would pass off as a model or action star no? Though he's heavily concentrating on his singing career now. If you don't know it yet, he's the one who sang "Sana'y Ikaw" for the Marian Rivera and Alden Richards starer Carmela.

Nothing beats a positive attitude. Happy and wanting more projects soon.

James says he's so happy that GMA Records took notice of him. He is managed and taken cared of by one of the most noted composers in the country Vehnee Saturno. His album was launched May 25th during Sunday All Stars. I loved how they did the number with Aljur and Mark, but still James stood out pretty obviously. He also knows he sounds really close to Christian Bautista, a little twang and his foreign accent would give him away. 

In fact, he really is a nice guy. He says he's very romantic too. He adds "I might not come across as a very romantic person but I am. I even watch romantic movies like The Notebook, A Walk To Remember etc.". This would be a nice thing to know for those that may think he's a very ASTIG guy. He's got a soft side that'll be very attractive to some girls I know.

"It's like an emotional escape and I can just be myself when I'm singing. As for admiring other singers. I don't want to admire anyone but I don't wanna be "mayabang". I want to admire myself to push myself and not to become that person. Everyone is different. This album is my leap off point. We've been planning this since November last year. It was a pop song before, but GMA said they wanted it to be a teleserye kind of song." He also attributes his biggest break with the former reality show "Anak Ko Yan" and Carmela. During the show, it was just me. Hong Kong is a very aggressive country; and that aggressiveness might have come across as an anti hero during the "Anak Ko Yan" days but that wasn't the deal. It was good though because it gave the show flavor rather than just putting cutesy people on the show. This was his answer to me when I asked about how his character was shown during the finals. I watched it. :)

About singing "That's what I have to show everyone but if there's an acting opportunity why not. I take risks" he adds.

 As of now, GMA might be planning a lot for him. He says he's going to lined up with contrabida roles first; and he doesn't mind because he knows even contrabidas can become heroes later on. When I said that the reason might be is because he looks chiseled, buff and so strong, he says no and said because "mukha daw akong mayaman" and we laughed off of that. :) I tell you, people who have that much humor, means they're also smart! Now how can you not love someone as good as James Wright? :)

If there's more things to hear from James, the album contains 5 songs. Aside from "Sana'y Ikaw", “Babe”, “Ikaw Yon”, “Kung Hindi Ikaw” and “Ako’y Sa ‘Yo”. His aim is just to create beautiful music. He doesn't care that much about top singles but wants you to feel and relate a lot with his songs. As long as you guys do, then he says he achieved his goal as a singer. Mind you, he still hasn't "fully" grasped Filipino, but he did these five songs beautifully. I bet his dream to be an artist in "Hollywood" would be really close. His voice live during that afternoon was even better than the album so just imagine.  

The self titled album of "James Wright" will be available at all major record bards nationwide. There are also digital copies that you can purchase through iTunes and other digital download spots online. Trust me, you'll love it just like my family did.

For more information about his album:

Official GMA Artist Center

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http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter

Time To Revisit Heaven and Eggs!

Group shot courtesy of Ruth, Ruthilicious.com. That's Rodel Flordeliz, Earth Rullan and Reg Tolentino.

I've been a regular in this establishment when their store in Eastwood City was still open. I guess they closed down and concentrated on more well earning stores as a business strategy, which makes sense. Together with my other blogger friends, we visited their branch in Glorietta 4 a few days ago. I was there to 1. Check if the food is still that good, 2. To see if my friends would still love it and 3. To see if there's something new in this joint. The Heaven and Eggs branch still carries that rockstar vibe they initiated a few years ago. As with the old look, I got the consensus that we all miss it. You remember that sky blue interior with clouds and cherubs all over it? The good news is, that they are highly considering to bring that back and get a more heavenly vibe since they are an all day breakfast place.

The Food

The food choices was considerably kept in tact because this is what customers want in this place. It's something that we would love to have; like true blue comfort food - one which you can have all day, every day!

Steak and Eggs

Think of mouthwatering perfectly grilled 8 ounce USDA grade rib eye steak served with 2 whole eggs, hash brown and buttered corn kernels. They have experience cooking things like these so it is as lovely as you can imagine it to be. Soft to the bite and had minimal seasoning, prolly simple salt and pepper as a major part of it. The gravy, hmmm... it's not to salty so it goes well with the steak. Pinoys would probably want rice with this but naturally because this is a big cut of steak, we don't have to. Really good. This is Steak and Eggs.

Classic Eggs Benedict

This is their Classic Eggs Benedict. Think of thick sweet and savory Forest Ham slices, lightly toasted English Muffin, soft poached eggs, asparagus spears and smothered with hollandaise sauce. This is also served with super crunchy naturally cut shoestring potatoes. This is the favorite of expats and foreigners when inside the Heaven and Eggs store. The all day breakfast is a reality, they've proven that with this awesome offering. Add salt if you prefer.