Tag: In the Philippines

RPG Metanoia

The Philippine’s first 3D-animated feature film. Apparently it’s quite good.

Billy Zane stars in a new film set in the Philippines: Surviving Evil

This message just reached my inbox and I thought I’d share it with you. The film looks like it’s worth watching. Trailer below…

Dear Phil-UK,

I’m a UK-based Filipina writer/journalist and just wanted to alert you to an exciting new movie which may be of interest to the Filipino community. It’s called Surviving Evil and was written & directed by my husband Terence Daw.

There are two lead Filipino characters among the cast and the story revolves around a TV crew who land a remote island in the Philippines to film a survival special, but are soon fighting for their lives against creatures from Philippine folklore – the Aswang! The film has a strong storyline with believable characters, and among the cast is Hollywood actor Billy Zane, plus our very own Joel Torre from the Philippines! The film also stars beautiful UK actress Natalie Mendoza, who is herself half-Filipina.

There is a facebook fan page with pics and information at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surviving-Evil-movie/45274215846 people can
sign uphere to be a Fan.

There is also a Youtube Trailer at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GFegPlFBso

It’s very unusual to have an international movie set in the Phils, with strong Filipino characters, so I hope you’ll tell your Pinoy readers to rush out and get their copy of the DVD – which is out now in stores across the UK (WHSmith, HMV, etc) and can be ordered online via Amazon, HMV or Play.com. The DVD also has a ‘making of’ documentary which tells you how the project came about!

Salamat!

Best regards,

Rowena

Charity Gig For Typhoon Victims in the Philipiines

Guanabana Restaurant Charity Gig For Typhoon Victims in the Philipiines
brought to you by Philippine Generations. Featuring Mark Villarosa, The Shaydz and other special guests including
Trucolorz.

Live Music! Buffet dinner!

Tickets from £15

6pm – 11pm Tuesday 10th November 2009

85 Kentist Town Road, Camden, London NW1

Contact:
[email protected]
Malcolm 07862006175
Guanabana 02074851166

Re-opening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

A Phil-UK reader, Pow Belgado, asked me to let you guys know about the re-opening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. As usual, posting these messages doesn’t mean that we endorse any particular viewpoint. Do your own research to keep informed about the issues.

A Call to Filipinos Around the World – Tell the Philippine Congress “No to Nukes”

The re-opening of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a hotly debated topic in the Philippines. House Bill 6300, which is currently in the House of Representatives, seeks PHP 100 million pesos of our tax money for a feasibility study. Several studies over the past decades have already said that this is a dangerous plant to operate, and in one study that already cost millions of dollars they found 40,000 defects in this plant! Later on our Congressmen are going to ask for $1 billion dollars to refurbish the power plant. The BNPP’s tainted history is already a hard lesson on how the pursuit of nuclear power has been a gargantuan and unjust burden on Filipinos. Even now, with moves for its revival heralding what appears to be aggressive plans for a national nuclear program, nuclear power may become the altar upon which this country will bankrupt itself.

Nuclear power is the most dangerous, and most expensive source of electricity. It won’t help our country achieve energy security because it won’t lower the costs of power, and it won’t reduce our dependence on imported fuel. Nuclear power will also not solve problems like climate change.

One key solution to genuine energy security and climate change is Renewable Energy. Renewable energy is clean, safe and cheap. And the best thing about it is, we already have a Renewable Energy Law—so we don’t need to revive outdated technology like the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to achieve our quest for energy solutions.

We must tell the congress we don’t want nuclear power!

If you want to tell Congress that you don’t want nuclear power sign in and we’ll make sure your message is delivered.

Your voice and those of your family, friends and colleagues will count!
Sign the petition TODAY! http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/no-nukes/

How the Filipino parent’s emphasis on academic success may encourage mediocrity

One of the things that characterises the Filipino parenting style is a focus on academic success. For Filipino parents, education is crucial and subsequently, the brightest children are placed on a pedestal while those with bad grades get strong reprimands. This, I think, can lead to a strong fear of failure. Rather than taking on the more difficult challenges, children who wish to please their parents quickly learn to opt for the those that have the highest chance of success. After all, good grades led to praise whereas failure only means a taste of tsinelas.

Filipino schools just add to the problem. Pressure from both parents and administration make teachers very reluctant to fail students. An industry professional who was offered a teaching job recently commented, “One of the reasons I refused [the job] is that if I fail 80% of the class [who were underachievers], I would be kicked out. Incredible. Raise the standards, and you get the boot. Keep them low, and you stay on forever.”

Ironically, the Filipino parent’s over-emphasis on success may restrain excellence and encourage mediocrity. It could help to explain many of the challenges our country faces. Maybe rather than being afraid of failure, we should accept it as being one of the key ingredients for innovation. Poor students should fail but we should also reward those who bounce back after hitting the dirt.

According to Randy Nelson, dean of Pixar University, a professional-development program for the well-known animation studio, the core skill of an innovator is error recovery, not failure avoidance. Perhaps if we change our attitude to failure, we may help raise a generation of innovators for the Philippines.

Edutopia video

“Pixar University’s Randy Nelson explains what schools must do to prepare students for jobs in new media.” http://www.edutopia.org/


Related articles:

Manila’s charcoal fields

Filipino child in charcoal fields

A German photographer, Hartmut Schwarzbach, is a finalist for the Sony World Photography Awards 2009. His entry portrays the children of a charcoal burner’s camp in Manila. According to an article on the BBC News website, around 30 million Filipinos live in poverty. For comparison, the UK’s population is at around 61 million.

This photo won the third-prize in the UNICEF Photo of the Year 2007. It shows of one of the camp’s children, Annalyn, on her ninth birthday.

Read more about this at:

Also take a look at the related post about Payatas, Metro Manila’s rubbish dump.

New TV Show is looking for Brits with a South East Asian Background

A TV production company is looking for young people with a South East Asian background to take part in a series revolving around food. The programme will take people on a cultural journey to South East Asia to give them a chance to see where and how our favourite foods are made.

They’ve asked us to post this press release:

Are you of South East Asian origin? A brand new BBC TV show is looking for Brits with a South East Asian background to go on a journey of discovery to find out here our food comes from.

Does food play a major role in your life?

Ever wondered where your food comes from?

Have you never had the chance to visit Asia?

We want to give you the chance to travel to South East Asia to find out how the food we eat is made.

If you are aged between 18 and 26 and interested in finding out more,
Please call one of the team on 01273 224 819
Or email [email protected]

Up Dharma Down

I’ve just discovered Up Dharma Down. Does anyone know more about them?