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Friday, April 6, 2018

SPOTTED | Monaco princess photographed holding a Jollibee toy

Princess Gabriella, one of Monaco's youngest royalties, was photographed holding a Jollibee toy during the Sainte Devote ceremony last January 26.

Image Courtesy: Palais Princier de Monaco
The princess was with her parents Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene and her twin brother Prince Jacques.


If you'd take a closer look at the image above, Princess Gabriella was holding what seemed to be a Jollibee toy from the Jollibee Musical Band collection that came with the Jolly Kiddie Meals last year. 


It's humbling to see a Filipino brand extend its reach up to western Europe and, to a lot of people's surprise, to looked-up-to royals. It would really let one wondering how the Jollibee toy ended in the hands of a princess.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

LITERARY | AUTHORities: The 9th Philippine International Literary Festival

Are you an avid reader of Philippine literature? Loves to watch films? Want to learn how to write but got no extra cash to do it?

The National Book Development Board (NBDB) invites all to the 9th cycle of the Philippine International Literary Festival at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) from April 19 to 20, 2018.

Image Courtesy: National Book Development Board
With the theme “(AUTHOR)ITIES”—underscoring the power and voice that come with creation—this year’s Festival will feature various talks, workshops, and a book fair, as well as film screenings, and performances. 

The NBDB, the government agency mandated to develop and support the Philippine book industry, will hold the Festival in celebration of "Buwan ng Panitikan" (National Literature Month) in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF). 

All activities in the 9th Philippine International Literary Festival are free and open to the public, running from 8:00 a.m.to 8:00 p.m. on both days. Sessions will take place in various venues around CCP, while the book fair will be at the Main Theater Lobby extending to the Little Theater Lobby. Film screenings will be held at the Little Theater and the Dream Theater.

For updates on the Festival program, please visit http://fb.com/nbdb.phil orhttps://www.facebook.com/events/182119419236650/

For queries, you may contact the Festival team through litfest@nbdb.gov.ph or at (632) 929 3887 local 804.

Wednesday, July 12, 2017

LIST | 10 Pinoy youtubers, vloggers you should follow (Part 2)

Note: Spotlight Philippines had a difficulty adjusting the codes for this article in such a way that the comments section and the share button won't overlap on the blog's content, kaso wala eh, nothing good happened so I decided to cut the first part into two parts. Part 1 of this list is found here.


This is a list of 10 Filipino Youtubers you might want to follow. You could be wondering right now if I'm following anyone of them. Yes, in fact, I am following some of them inc. Lloyd, Wil and Trick Ramos hehe. One thing their videos have in common is their sense of humor. I really love to laugh so videos that light up my mood are my favorite. Images: Ranz Kyle, Trick Ramos

4. TRICK RAMOS

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Trick Ramos

I came across his self-titled youtube channel Trick Ramos just a week ago and all I can say is that this youtuber will make it big time.




Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Trick Ramos



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He identifies himself as a jologs travel vlogger from PH. Watching his travel videos really brighten up my day not just for his awesome video editing but also for the sense of humor he injects in all of them. You won't be closing a tab with his work on it without having that smile drawn on your face. Trick does not run out of ideas when it comes to entertaining his subscribers. What's really enticing is that you'd be surprised at how good he is in impressing people by inserting surprise clips that tickles your sense. There's no doubt this guy will be popular in the coming years. Mark my word.

He identifies himself as a "jologs travel vlogger from PH." Watching his travel videos really brighten up my day not just for his awesome video editing but also for the sense of humor he injects in all of them. You won't be closing a tab with his work on it unless a smile has been drawn on your face. Trick does not run out of ideas when it comes to entertaining his subscribers. What's really enticing is that you'd be surprised at how good he is in impressing people by inserting surprise audio and video clips that tickle your senses. There's no doubt this guy will be popular in the coming years. Mark my word.

5. RANZ KYLE

With over 2 million subscribers on Youtube, 1.2 million followers on Facebook, and 1.3 million followers on Instagram, Ranz Kyle together with his sister Niana make up the dancing duo whose bubbly choreographs propelled the Youtube channel to its highs. Ranz Kyle's channel has got a huge following not only in the Philippines but also outside the country.

The channels consists mainly of choreographs, pranks and dance challenges. His most popular video is "When 'Shape of You' by Ed Sheeran Comes Along," a short funny clip showing what happens to a person who gets carried along by his/her song jam, in this case, Ed Sheeran's "Shape of You."

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Ranz Kyle

Alright, let's take a binge-watch break! Five (5) Youtubers have been introduced in this two-part list, and there are five (5) more to go! Who could they be? Get updates on Part 3 of this list by checking out Manila LifeBox.

LIST | 10 Pinoy youtubers, vloggers you should follow (Part 1)

It's not surprising that a lot of Filipino millennials nowadays have decided to join Youtube as a Youtuber or vlogger. There's a lot of perks (monetary and in kind) that come alongside being popular as a social media influencer, not to mention the lower costs associated with setting up your own studio and planning everything for yourself rather than relying on so many cash-strapping equipment and staff. So, why not do it on your own right? Hence, many Pinoys have taken the route of Youtube stardom.

Image Courtes: Youtube

Despite the numerous attempts to gain a huge number of followers, only a few have reached the top with hundreds of thousands of followers. This list I created includes some of the most popular Youtube stars (Youtubers, vloggers, channels) in the country.

1. LLOYD CAFE CADENA

First, we have Lloyd Cadena who is definitely one of the most famous Filipino youtubers in the country today. His channel has an at-least-500-thousand-strong following, mostly young students. This influencer has over 4 million followers in Youtube.

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Lloyd Cafe Cadena

His videos are really on point when it comes to sharing pieces of advice regarding life scenarios (especially love) or some tips just about anything. Lloyd's videos also tackle a lot of topics from food and entertainment to personal encounters together with his friends BNT Productions.

Lloyd Cafe Cadena has been awarded the YouTube Silver Play Button in 2013, Best Comedy on YouTube at Globe Tatt Awards in 2013, Cosmo Webtastic Award in 2015, Hall of Famer for Chicken Pork Adobo in 2015, and Youtube Personality Award in Influence Asia 2017.

2. MICHELLE DY

Girls would surely want to read up and get to know this second Youtuber in the list. It's no other than Pinay makeup guru Michelle Dy! With 260k followers in Instagram, 90k followers in Twitter, and 480k subscribers in Youtube, she sure knows what she's doing. Her videos focus on makeup tutorials, TV serye-inspired transformations, trendy challenges and a list of monthly favorites (beauty items). At present, she gives personal makeup workshops at affordable prices.

Her channel's most popular video features herself demonstrating GMA 7's Encantadia 2016-inspired sang'gre looks. Watch it below!

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Michelle Dy

3. WIL DASOVICH

A TV celebrity, model, and Youtube vlogger, Fil-Am Wil Dasovich is probably the most popular, sought-after male Pinoy vlogger in the Philippines. And his star continued to shine when he joined "Pinoy Big Brother: Lucky 7," one of ABS-CBN's top rating reality TV shows. In this year's Influence Asia 2017, which was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wil won not just one but three awards, Youtube Channel Award, Breakout Influencer Award, and Influencer of the Year.


Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Wil Dasovich

Although born in the States, Wil decided to make PH his home and made videos about the local culture. His videos often feature his travel escapades in and around the Philippines. His fluency in speaking Tagalog and gay lingo has made his videos unique from the rest. In his channel, his works focus on "traveling, personal health & well being."  He also makes daily vlogs "meant to encourage everyone to go out, explore, and make the most out of every situation they come across."

P.S. This blog is encountering template problems when the article seems to be too long so I cut it short. Here is Part 2 of the list of Pinoy Youtube stars you might want to check out.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

SPOTTED | Student filmmaker spies on thief who stole his smartphone for documentary

What happens to a stolen smartphone after the theft?

This was mainly what was in mind of a young filmmaker in Amsterdam who  produced a short documentary about the life of a smartphone thief. There's a catch though; unless the sim card is destroyed or the phone is reset, the documentary about this thief's life continues. 

All student filmmaker Anthony van der Meer needed to do were to bug his smartphone, wait for it to be stolen, and eventually, monitor the thief.

Image Screenshot: Find my Phone - Subtitled (Short Film)

For this documentary, der Meer intentionally had his smartphone stolen. Before the theft took place, the smartphone was loaded with a bugging software Cerberus whichs gave the young docu maker access to his  stolen device's location and information which include new messages and contacts added. The app alsoo allowed der Meer to have sort of control over its camera and microphone through WiFi access.

The actual theft wasn't documented due to unforeseen circumstances. However, for two weeks, der Meer spied on the thief. He compiled the details and clips and then made these into the short film seen below called "Find My Phone - Subtitled".

Video Courtesy: Youtube channel Anthony van der Meer

Since December 13, the film has already reached 4.1 million views.

Reaction:
Although it's not that normal a theme to take center stage in short films and documentaries, I find this really interesting. Getting to know a thief through surveillance technology, although it somewhat bypasses privacy, is actually an out-of-the-box way of crafting a film project dedicated towards

But, if you were to be asked, was it really a good idea to conduct such snooping? For me, it was quite justifiable. The clip did tell us something about the thief's life. In fact, it gave us a sneak peek of the type of person this man is, only to realize in the end that what we see or hear through a smartphone may or may not be what is real.

In der Meer's words, "suddenly, I had made eye contact with the thief. In front of me was a completely different person than I imagined. Nothing was left of the sad, kind man I thought I knew. I realized that the bond I thought I had built with him was merely one-sided. The aggressive attitude and the smell of hasj that surrounded him, made it clear to me; I don't know this man in front of me after all."