New Hobby for Titos/Titas of Manila: SUISEKI

Just got off the SUISEKI event at the posh Shangri-la Plaza Mall in Shaw Boulevard this afternoon. For those who don't know, there is a large community dedicated to natural stones oftenly called SUISEKI (named after Empress Suiko) who got Chinese Scholar rocks displayed in a wooden base. These rocks are special, usually formed during a long period of time and must depict a special object or shape, like landscape, animals and sculptures. It's not modified at all. The lady above is Ms. Fely Gupit, founder of the Natural Stones Society of the Philippines. The jolly lady welcomed us all and told us the story of Suiseki culture in the Philippines and according to organizations, the country is only on it's infancy because we only started in the early 2000's, but knows how huge our natural resources are. That's our edge over other countries who do this too.

During the occasion, we were also treated with passionate bamboo flute music courtesy of that viral grandpa who played in his spare time at LRT Stations in Manila. There was a guy and young kid who performed with him who were equally talented.

This is Suiseki

People who must have been on the sidelines have been looking at it funny but if you look at them up close, you would know why people have been appreciating these rocks for hundreds of years because just like fashion, it's in the details. 

These are volcanic rocks, formed like small hills and mountains while the other looked like a sinkhole.

This is called Circline, very stunning to see as it looked like a real sculpture but it's only made by the ravages of wind, water, and natural soil erosion. 

This one is called a "Seal", as it mimics the actual sea animal. I'm sure you can all see the resemblance no?

This one looks like a sculpture that looks like it was inspired by "Madonna and Child". The organization called Natural Stones Society of the Philippines has been doing these exhibits in different places and museums to bring awareness of the art, which can be a good hobby for Titos and Titas of Manila. 

This is one of the most fascinating pieces I've seen on display because if you look at it, it's got tons of flower patterns that are intricately arranged on the stone's face. If my hunch is correct, this is a former coral and I'm sure the Philippines has got a ton of these since we are an archipelago.

Some pieces hail from Nueva Ecija and with the multitude of caves there, I bet some of these pieces have history involved. It looks like there's a ton of stories involved in picking up stones like these.

This is entitled "Mountains" which I figure is more because it looks like the ULURU mountain in Australia or just like certain mountains in the Philippines. I think I get why scholars have gotten interest in these things and get inspiration when they study. 

Tanay Rizal is also a source of these interesting stones. Mind you I've seen several things like these that cost thousands of pesos, no joke!

Bat Cave, as the name suggests this looks like a bat in flight. Several stones on display actually look like other animals, like turtles, birds, mammals, and you don't even have to imagine.

This one is textured, one which we often call "Batong Buhay" in local lingo. This is interesting because people would just brush this off, put it on a pedestal and it looks like a million bucks.

For those who are interested to actually make this a serious hobby, Titos/Titas of Manila are encouraged to contact Ms. Felicidad Gupit, founder of the Natural Stones Society of the Philippines. If you would like to join the club, just call 5717818. After three days they will have a new set of stones on display so I hope you could get to see it before July 26. This is part of Shangri-la Plaza's month long celebration of everything Japanese. There are small shops, a lot of displays, kimonos and retail stores that show their wares so buy them all if you're in the mood for shopping. They have events every week so if you're in the mood for fun and luxurious retail therapy, Shangri-la Plaza has them all! Visit http://www.shangrila-plaza.com/ for more details!

TOFARM Film Festival Awards Night (Part 2)

Thanks for being so patient. I'd like to be a little more detailed about what happened during the awards night at Shangrila Makati. Now I thought my favorite film in TOFARM Film Festival wasn't getting that much attention, but later on in the evening I saw quite a good number of the awards go to High Tide. Pardon me but I really connected with it as it was in a dialect that I could understand. It felt so charming seeing and hearing it on screen even if it was all about climate change. I guess I am leaning toward this movie because of that.

They called in all the Directors and thanked them on stage. The judges also gave them pats on the back for a job well done.

The Jurors include acclaimed Director Laurice Guillen, flanked by Dr. Milagros How and Direk Maryo J. Delos Reyes.

Direk Laurice began stating that there is a special jury prize to be given away. This part surprised me, I didn't know they had something like this.

For the Best Performance as an ensemble, it was given to the three kids of High Tide. I was so happy for them I had to put down my camera and clap for these kids. They didn't want to talk on the microphone either LOL!

Good looking heathrob and kapuso crooner Ruru Madrid made the ladies swoon. I wouldn't blame them, he sang LIVE without any hesitation, but admits later on how neevous he was singing in front of people who mostly were members of the press.

For the major awards, they got premier actress Cherrie Pie Picache, host extraordinaire Edu Manzano and Direk Laurice Guillen to call them on stage. I already knew who was going to win by the mere mention of their names LOL. 

We were a but surprised though because they declared 2 winners for the Best ctor award. They gave it to "Kamunggai's Roger "Soe" Gonzales and What Home Feels Like's Bembol Roco. Mind you Mr. Bembol Roco also tied with somebody last year for the same category. 

Looking at him so humbled and thankful in his speech felt so good, I think they made the right call on this one.

Bembol Roco's wife in the film Ms. Irma Adlawan also won the Best Actress trophy and said she initially didn't want to attend as she believes the actors shouldn't be pitted against each other. She believes they all deserve to be winners for merely being there for a noble cause.

For the Best Director Award, Joseph Abello won for What Home Feels Like. He thanked all his mentors for guiding and teaching him the ropes in this project.

Then it was time for Ms. How to award the cash prizes for the Best Picture category.

For 3rd Best Picture, they gave it to INSTALADO. The whole cast and production went to the stage and accepted the award.

For 2nd Best Picture, it went to What Home Feels Like. The whole town went to the stage LOL. They were so happy especially the producers and the Director who believed about their story from day 1.

I was so happy to hear that my favorite film in this year's TOFARM Film Festival eventually won BEST PICTURE. Yes it's High Tide. I wanted them to win in the other categories too but this was definitely sweet! Congratulations to the cast, they really did good imho.

After the event, I got to talk to Ruru Madrid and that's when he told me he was so nervous about his number earlier. For me, he did so fine. I felt he was so confident to do that LIVE.

Also saw Jeffrey Hidalgo, remember him from Smokey Mountain? He looks like my friend Rod Magaru in all angles hahah. He was a nice chap.

Congratulations too the men and women behind the movie What Home Feels Like. I will be watching this movie today as it is the last day of TOFARM. Make sure you rush to theaters today! 

I also saw THE Whitney Tyson. It was a huge throwback moment for me, especially since I find her so funny in Going Bananas.

I only have hugh respects for what Universal Harvest Inc. is doing. Who would have thought that doing CSR work and film making was possible right? Dr. How and the company isn't just helping the film industry, she's making the public aware of the small issues that have hounded the farmers for years. Hopefully they won't be just helped by the private entities, but by the government and the public too. It was not just entertaining, but very educational. Please enjoy the films as they are on the last day of screenings at Gateway Mall, SM Megamall, Greenbelt and Cinematheque in Manila.

Congratulations TOFARM Film Festival! I'll see you next year, yes?!

Robbie's Deli In A Hurry Opens at SM Clark Pampanga

I'm sure you've all seen a vendo machine. It's actually culturally significant in Japan and has been a part of their way of life. We too have seen it's convenience while it dished out coffee or different kinds of drinks in Manila during the past few years and tons of things have sprouted in the Philippines, but this one is special. You see, owner Robert Lo saw the need for easy, convenient, fast food but didn't want the trouble of setting up a restaurant. The ordinary employees in this area especially those who work in the BPO industry only had limited time for lunch breaks. I worked in this industry and most often than not, it's either 30 minutes or 1 Hour a day that they spend for this. Restaurants usually take about 15-20 minutes to prepare food, add to that the time to order, some delays in between, so it is a GREAT idea to stop that system and just have food that is hot, fresh, every time.  

It all spawned from his company trips in Europe where he saw how it was efficient for people to just get everything from Vendo machines and even gone great lengths to bring the technology here. He also tried to source it from Japan but found it needed to cater to the needs of the Filipino market. They were able to get a customized version of it from Korea and they got several machines shipped to the country and make Robbie's Deli In A Hurry's Food Wall what it is today. 

Mr. Robert Lo adds "We've spent around 5-6 Million pesos to make this happen in the Philippines and we plan to open up three more in a few months. This area can accommodate around 60 people, but it will serve hundreds of people 24:7 and cater to BPO people for the lunch boxes, on the go and gourmet line. 

We want to promote Philippine cuisine and we did a little western for Robbie's Deli In A Hurry. It's fast but we don't compromise on the food we serve, choosing the best ingredients and healthy too. I did this for Rob because he supplied me with the best meats. We have 24 dishes, everyday is different and we rotate the menu during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We also have designed machines with cards instead of tokens. We have holding time for each product and every 2 hours and it's always at 65 degrees centigrade. Prep time is around 10 minutes and it's going to be taken out on the dot if we need to. We will also serve sandwiches, small meals, lunch boxes, and the gourmet dishes too. We will have things for kids too on the menu plus pica pica too. We have in the plans to put drinks later on once we get the equipment delivered. We are also conscious about the environment so all our utensils and boxes are food grade. We are proud to present the first food from the wall, we are better than fast food!"

To let you know a bit more about Robbie's Deli In A Hurry, here's a video of my Pampanga trip. Enjoy!

They are planning to expand this business in locations around the country so it could service more people that need a quick meal that is hot fresh off the kitchen. Mind you they do replace the food after a certain period, as they keep it hot while it's on the shelf (controlled temperature) and discard it so all you see there is always safe to consume every time. 

Robbie's Deli in a Hurry is located at SM City Clark in Pampanga. Like their Facebook page here: Facebook.com/robbiesdeli for more information about their shop.

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TOFARM Film Festival Awards Night (Part 1)

You've all seen it, you've heard it and now comes the grueling task of picking who did great at the TOFARM Film Festival on it's second year. The entries last year were all good. VP of Universal Harvest Incorporated Dr. Milagros O. How puts it "It has been a good first year and the entries we had last year has not just made us happy, it has exceeded our expectations and even won awards locally and internationally. It has put the farmer's plight in the forefront and given it the attention that it deserves." and true enough, it has already churned several accolades and nominations from different award giving bodies including the top award in the Shanghai International Film Festival via Paulo Villaluna's "Pauwi Na" (Pedicab) plus the Golden Goblet trophy from the jurors which made the TOFARM Film Festival executives ecstatic to make this second year even bigger.

Making this whole thing happen must not have been easy as the jurors have to choose only a few movies among the 140++ scripts that have been screened this year. During this evening, it was time to choose among the actors, the people behind it, the entries of who fared well as the judges and the viewing public had a hand at it too.

The Festival Director and Film Maker Maryo J. Delos Reyes took the stage and thanked everyone who came, then introduced the films that made it to this year's entries. He also acknowledged the 6 film directors who did an excellent job at making these movies for the duration of the festival.

Hosting the show was lovely Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. Tom was extra sweet, he mentioned something about being together on stage, it may or may not be part of the script. They look so natural up there.

Christopher De Leon announced the nominees for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Category.

When they announced the winner, it went to Francis Magundayao for Instalado. It's his first award ever.

I was rooting for Sunshine to win the Best Supporting Actress category but the one who won it was Barbara Miguel for Instalado. She won in the Harlem International Film Festival in 2013, so this wasn't surprising.

To give the awards for Best Music and Best Sound.

My apologies because I didn't get to take a photo of the winner for Best Music which went to Hiroko Nagai and Harold Andre Cruz Santos for What Home Feels Like. Best Sound award went to Wild Sound for the movie Instalado.

I haven't seen Bayang Barrios for a while, the last time I think was during the launch of the 1898 album... that was ages ago. She is also part of the movie "Kamunggay" which I plan to watch later since it's the last day.

To announce the winners for several production awards, they called in Joel Torre and Anna Capri plus a guy who's name I didn't take note of, my apologies.

The Best Production Design award went to Mark Sabas of Instalado. I guess it's because they got to execute a sci fi movie on a limited budget, imagine how hard that would have been no?

Then they gave the Best Editing award to the team of Michael Bayani Canino and Director Tara Illenberger of High Tide. I guess those shots in the remote island and how they tied it up has got a lot to do with it.

For the Best Cinematography, it was bagged by TM Malones for the movie High Tide. The treatment for various weather conditions was superb in this movie. They chose the right winner.

To announce the rest of the winners for the other production awards, out came the immortal Gabby Concepcion together with Director Maryo J. Delos Reyes.

Best Story went to Joseph Abello for What Home Feels Like. I was told the story was actually about a real father of one of the Producers, which they chose to NOT to watch the film since this would make things awkward haha!

This was the time where I saw how they were picking up the awards like hotcakes. The Best Screenplay went to again, Joseph Abello for What Home Feels Like.

The People's Choice Award went to INSTALADO and the Director attributed it to the tons of people who watched the film, plus of course he took time to say thanks to the fans of McCoy who voted for them.

Congratulations to the winners of the recent TOFARM Film Festival. I'll publish the second part of the awards in a bit including the recognition they bestowed upon the judges and directors of the 6 films. So if you haven't watched the entries yet, make sure you do today because it's the last day of screening. You can go to Greenbelt, Gateway Mall, SM Megamall, Cinematheque via FDCP and UP Cinema. You may check the schedules here.