Jan 192014
 
The only good thing to do with good advice is to pass it on

We usually get advice from people we look up to and trust: an expert, a self-help book author, our boss, our spiritual adviser, or our closest friends. But how many times do we heed the advice that we get? “Most advice is terrible. Nine times out of 10 it’s about as useful as a screen door on a submarine,” psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson once commented. Good advice is authentic, tangible and makes the advice seeker follow a process. If we are the advice giver, we have to be extra cautious in giving it, and it should be based exclusively on our experience. If the advice needs to be executed differently, we have to specify what needs to be done and how it should be done. Bad advice can leave the recipient aggravated, perplexed, or headed down the erroneous trail. If done wrongly, the situation can move from bad to worse. George Lois’s Damn Good Advice (for People with Talent is an anthology of concepts that motivate us to discover new boundaries in the area of big ideas, the way to find them, to sell them and to produce them. Lois, dubbed as advertising’s original “Bad Boy,” created memorable, in-your-face campaigns that changed the fate of brands companies and personalities. Here are inspiring, shining wisdom from his tome that can set free our latent creativity. • A big campaign idea can only be expressed in words that absolutely bristle with visual possibilities. These words link up with a visual imagery, and together Read More …

Jan 192014
 
Get your Wuchang on

Jackie Chan stars in 1911 Revolution, part of the 8th Spring Film Festival from Jan. 24 to Feb. 6. Jackie Chan’s in the house. Well, not in the flesh, but in the premiere feature of the 8th Spring Film Festival, with eight movies being shown at Shangri-la Plaza Cineplex from Jan. 4 to Feb. 22 to promote Chinese culture locally. Chan takes the role of Huang Xing, a revolutionary during China’s homegrown rebellion from Imperial forces in 1911 Revolution. Does he get to use his celebrated martial arts skills in at least one scene against Imperial guards? He does. At the preview showing of 1911 Revolution, Sidney Bata, director of the Ricardo Leong Center of Chinese Studies, told the media, “Yes, we’re bringing Jackie Chan to Manila… to cinema screens, that is.” (But he hinted Chan might attend next year’s event in Manila.) 1911 Revolution traces the roots of the Wuchang Uprising, a provincial revolt headed by rebellious soldiers against corrupt military leaders and the government of the Qing Dynasty. It’s a sweeping historical tale that shows how Empress Dowager Cixi tried, and failed, to use bank loans from European and US leaders to buy arms and crush the rebellion, and how scholar and doctor Sun Yat-sen eventually became the first president of the Republic of China. It’s one of eight films that cover historical drama, suspense, romantic comedy and action. There’s Aftershock, which focuses on a devastating earthquake in Tangshan in 1976 that killed 240,000 people, and how a Read More …

Jan 192014
 
Smart strengthens broadband service

MANILA, Philippines – Wireless giant Smart Communications Inc. has strengthened its mobile broadband service foothold after parent firm Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) completed the P400-million submarine fiber optic cables providing critical resiliency for its network in the Visayas and Mindanao. Rolando Peña, Technology Group head at Smart and PLDT, said the newly completed 150-kilometer undersea fiber links are expected to enhance Smart’s high-speed mobile broadband in Southern Philippines with expanded capacity for high-bandwidth services.  “Smart is further expanding its network of reliable and high-speed mobile broadband sites around the country to meet the skyrocketing demand for mobile data from our users,” Peña said. He pointed out that the submarine cable runs from Mactan in Cebu to Loon in Bohol and from Garcia Hernandez in Bohol to Kinoguitan in Cagayan de Oro. “With the proliferation of smartphones and the popularity of online services, we are seeing even more of our subscribers making the shift to data. With this growing demand, a resilient and reliable network is required to maintain a seamless mobile broadband experience,” he added. The new fiber-optic facilities, the first time for Bohol province to have such high-speed data infrastructure, would also complement the rollout of Smart’s ultra-fast mobile long term evolution (LTE) service in Visayas and Mindanao allowing subscribers to experience firsthand up to 42 Mbps of broadband internet. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 With a high-speed LTE connection, subscribers could experience tomorrow’s Internet through high-definition video streaming, low-latency file transfers, and Read More …

Jan 192014
 
Teradata targets 2-digit revenue growth in Phl

MANILA, Philippines – Data analytics firm Teradata aims to achieve double-digit growth in revenues in the Philippines as it expands its customer base, particularly in the banking and retail sectors, a company official said. Teradata Philippines country manager Ella Mae Ortega said in a briefing the company sees the Philippines as an important market and intends to grow its revenues in the country by increasing the number of its customers. “We have customers here but we want to expand our customer base with particular focus on banking and retail,” she said. The company wants to get banks and retailers as clients as the two are post the highest growth rates in the country. “These are also customers that need data analytics in their business or even do predictive analysis. These are customers that have big requirement on data warehousing and analytics,” Ortega said. She said more and more companies are becoming interested in understanding their customers as many of them express opinion products and services on social networking sites.At the same time, many companies want to reach their customers through social media to launch products and services.Ortega said Teradata wants to help companies here understand and reach their customers better through data driven marketingsolutions. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “With the emergence of big data as the new business imperative and a growing appreciation in the market on how business analytics can hone a company’s competitive edge, my charter is to drive growth in Teradata Philippines Read More …

Jan 192014
 
New Insular Health Care head named

MANILA, Philippines – Insular Life chairman of the Board and CEO Vicente R. Ayllón announced the appointment of Seraline Lloren Manguni as president and chief operating officer (COO) of Insular Life’s subsidiary, Insular Health Care, Inc. Manguni joined Insular Life’s Actuarial Division in 1991. Nine years later, she was seconded to Insular Health Care as vice president and actuary, and in 2003, as first vice president and actuary and head of actuarial and technical operations. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in BS Statistics from the University of the East. She is a fellow of the Actuarial Society of the Philippines (FASP), fellow of Life Management Institute (FLMI) and member of International Actuarial Association (IAA). Insular Health Care is one of the top 10 health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in the Philippines in terms of capitalization, comprehensive healthcare packages and service delivery. It offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive healthcare programs in the market with the flexibility to meet specific needs of its members.

Jan 192014
 
EDC to restore Leyte power plant

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Development Corp., the Lopez-owned geothermal company, is eyeing to restore all the units of its 650-megawatt Unified Leyte Power Plant by August. The power facility in Leyte, the single biggest source of electricity in the Visayas, shut down after Super Typhoon Yolanda damaged some units when it struck in some parts of the Visayas in November last year. “We should have all the units back in operation around August and possibly earlier depending on the availability of spare parts which is dependent on manufacturing lead time,” said EDC president Richard Tantoco. EDC has been able to repair the damaged facility in phases, successfully dispatching 292 MW to the Visayas Grid to date. “For Unified Leyte, we are now producing a total of 292 MW,” Tantoco said.  Tantoco said the facility would definitely be back online at full capacity this year. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Last week, EDC said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) that the company has been able to run another unit of the Malitbog facility, allowing the plant to produce additional capacity of 75 MW. “EDC has successfully energized another unit of the Malitbog Power Plant, with an additional capacity of 75MW. Said unit is now on start-up mode and under reliability and other tests,” the EDC said in its disclosure. In early January, EDC restored the first unit with a capacity of 75 MW in coordination with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, Read More …

Jan 192014
 
Vic Sotto: ‘I’m open to all criticism’

Vic Sotto and the cast of the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “My Little Bossings.” MANILA, Philippines – Vic Sotto said he is open to constructive criticism amid the negative feedback and reviews received by his film “My Little Bossings.” “My Little Bossings,” an entry in the 2013 Metro Manila Film Festival, was met mostly with scathing reviews. Among them was writer-TV5 news personality Lourd de Veyra’s “’An Open Letter to Vic Sotto,” published in a lifestyle website early this month. RELATED: What Pauleen Luna likes about Vic Sotto The essay, which criticized “My Little Bossings,” tells the “Eat Bulaga” main host: “Ngayon ikaw ay nasa maimplumensiyal at makapangyarihang posisyon. Kaya mong gumawa ng mga pelikulang makabuluhan, isang pelikulang maipagmamalaki ng lahat sa punto de bista ng kultura at estetiko.” Although he has not read the said open letter by de Veyra, Vic said, “Maganda siguro kung dineretso niya sa akin.” “I’m open to all criticism, lalo na kung constructive,” he said in a taped interview with GMA-7’s showbiz talk show “Startalk” aired Saturday, January 18. Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 RELATED: MMFF 2013 earns over P900M in 12 days Vic added, “Ito yung tinatawag nating demokrasya, e. Nire-respect ko ang opinyin ng sinuman. Ganun din ang pagrespeto ko sa milyun-milyong nanood at nasiyahan at natuwa sa aming pelikula.” The 59-year-old comedian said he does not mind the bad reviews. “Ang mahalaga e record-breaking ang festival itong na ito,” he said.

Jan 182014
 
Pandesal eases homesickness

PINOY BUNS Light and salty pandesal is standard Pinoy breakfast fare. Inset: Prime Obon-Laput and her husband Edmund, posing with their daughter, are making sure overseas Pinoys in Thailand still get their daily pandesal. PHITSANULOK, Thailand—Filipinos abroad miss many things from the Philippines, from “balut” to San Miguel Beer. But overseas Filipino workers and their families in Phitsanulok have a taste of home thanks to a Filipino teacher here who ventured into baking the most sought-after bread by fellow Pinoys: the light and salty breakfast bun, pandesal. Prime Obon-Laput, 33, a college instructor at Phitsanulok College and her husband Edmund, also a teacher at Padoongrasda School, ventured into the small-scale Pinoy bakery, to augment their income as teachers. “At first, we just wanted to make pandesal for our own consumption, but most of our friends requested us to sell the pandesal,” Prime says.   A family business Back in the Philippines, Prime’s family owned a bakery—La Prima Bakery in Sariaya, Quezon. When her father came to Thailand in 2011, Edmund asked him to teach them how to bake pandesal for their own consumption. “Pandesal is very much a part of a Filipino’s breakfast. We missed it here, so my husband wanted to learn how to bake it,” Prime recalls. At that time, they didn’t have an oven, so they waited until 2013, during Prime’s father’s third visit in Thailand to teach Edmund how to bake. On September 2013, Prime and Edmund started baking pandesal. Their friends who got a taste Read More …

Jan 182014
 
Remembering Uncle Fred, Fil-Am historian

FRED CORDOVA; 1931-2013 He was a humble man with a commanding presence. I can only imagine what that looked like 50-plus years ago, when he was a young university student, an aspiring journalist, a community activist, or just a mischievous boy pursuing his college sweetheart. But we’ll save those stories for actual writers to tell. I knew Uncle Fred for five short years of his life, when he already had been together 60 years with his wife Dorothy Laigo Cordova, had fathered eight children, at least three community organizations, and had enjoyed 20 years as founder and president of the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS). Those five years served as a foundation for me, as Uncle Fred imbued them chock-full with Pinoy purpose. He watched me transform from someone who placed little to no significance on his cultural heritage into one who embraced it as the focal point of his character. Thus he claimed me: “If you’ve got one drop of bagoong in you… then we’ve got you. You’re a Filipino.” He of course was referring to the pungent, purple, Filipino shrimp paste that ferments in jars and complements meals. Uncle Fred kept one such jar on his work desk to hold red sharpies and pencils, with which he continued his journalistic tendencies of meticulously marking, editing, and note-taking. A perpetual work in progress—one way I’d describe his attitude toward life. Consistently searching how to be a better person. Persistently taking on new responsibilities. Constantly adopting new projects, with Read More …