Globe has done it again! Starting tomorrow July 16, Globe will be offering it’s brand new service SUPERUNLIALLTXT25. For just 25 pesos a day, you can now text any of the 85 million mobile phone users in the Philippines for no charge at all – it doesn’t matter if they’re from Globe, TM, Smart, Talk ‘N Text or Sun! Aside from the unlimited texts, you will also get an hour’s worth of internet browsing!

TEXT UALL25 to 8888

It seems like the recent developments in the telecommunications scene have made the companies become more aggressive with their tactics. Anything that keeps prices low for consumers is certainly a good thing. Hopefully, companies would continue to innovate and improve their services for the benefit of us consumers.

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- Melody Hossaini

Pardon the pun, but the possibiliteas really are endless with the way Lipton is positioning their tea in the local market. Aside from being the top-of-mind brand for tea – and all the common variants that tea drinkers have come to like, Lipton is now pushing for a new concept; one that would make tea drinking customizable and friendly to everyone’s palate and best of all, everyone’s pockets.

Lipton organized a very intimate but lively blog event last weekend to introduce bloggers to the concept of creating their own delicious concoctions with ingredients and spices that could be readily found in their kitchens. Chef Rosebud from the QTV show Quickfire was on hand to share her tea recipes as well as coach bloggers into creating their own unique poisons potions. From simple ingredients like honey, calamansi juice and ginger power to more savory spices like cardamom and nutmeg, Chef Rosebud was able to show how easy it was to make your own delicious tea at home. Not only is making tea fun, it’s also very practical once you consider the cost of specialty teas right now in the market.

Flow Galindez‘s creation featuring the flavors of apple and cinnamon was judged as the best recipe according to Chef Rosebud. It was so good that she even said that it was good enough to be sold in a tea shop!

Whether you want a nice simple cup of tea, a nice cold glass of chai or an experimental concoction that you haven’t tried before, Lipton definitely gives you the means to let your imagination run wild. The possibiliteas truly are endless.

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Social Media has emerged as one of the biggest stories of the past couple of years. Whether it’s for the purposes of forwarding an advocacy or raving about the hottest movie in the cinemas, Filipinos have grown adept to using online venues to get their voices heard and have stories amplified for the largest audiences.

In line with this, Tattoo – one of the leading brands in wireless broadband -launched the Tatt Awards to seek out the people who have used Social Media and pushed its strength and reach towards its full potential.

There are ten categories wherein you could nominate your favorite social media personality (heck, you could even nominate yourself!). Aside from the scores given by the  formidable board of judges assembled to adjudicate the proceedings, social media credentials would also be the factored into the mix.There are big prizes to be won so nominate your bets now!

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Tibok-tibok is nothing like you’ve ever tasted before. I first saw in on TV on Susan Calo-Medina’s Travel Time and from that very first encounter I was very much enamored with how potentially amazing this delicacy can possibly taste like. The name certainly sounds unfamiliar – the term tibok is the Filipino term for “to throb” or “pulse” and that’s certainly not the thing you first think of when you’re dealing with a sweet dish.

It can only be bought in the many branches of Susie’s Cuisine found all over Pampanga – roughly about 1 hour away from Manila. According to the TV feature, the tibok-tibok is reminiscent of maja blanca. Most people would actually be thrown off by this comparison. For one, tibok-tibok does look a lot like maja blanca it’s immaculately white and is sprinkled with a good helping of latik or toasted coconut. The similarity ends there. The Pampanga delicacy is made with carabao’s milk ; a dairy product with a lot more fat compared to cow’s milk making it packed with calories (read: deliciousness)! It’s just really creamy and the amount of sweetness is just right – it’s a good counterpoint to the very velvety texture of the dish.

Unlike the maja blanca the tibok-tibok is a stand alone dish. It doesn’t have inclusions (like corn) and personally, I enjoy it more without the latik topping. At just 20 pesos per serving, it’s one of the things that visitors to Pampanga should try.

I know that this photo piqued your curiosity so do yourself a favor and try it for yourself. A ticket to Pampanga is just around 99 pesos one-way and Pampanga is replete with many other unique dishes for you to choose from. Susie’s also serves a great Palabok! And I dare say, it’s a LOT better than Razon’s.

What makes the dish so quirky? It’s obviously not an aborted duck embryo or a rotting piece of meat that’s being pushed as a delicacy but the tibok-tibok is quirky in the sense that it sort of has its own “category” as far as food goes. It’s ability to be hard to describe and tough to compare to other dishes make it a must-try delicacy.

The simple substitution of carabao milk (a milk that is notorious for spoiling really fast) made the tibok-tibok the unique entity that it is. It sort of looks familiar so to the unsuspecting diner expecting a maja the first forkful of the tibok-tibok would be a very interesting experience. I actually take people to Pampanga just to see their reaction. If you enjoy seeing people’s eyes light up in response to good food, this is a real great and cheap way to do it. Sometimes, quirkiness doesn’t have to hit you in the face with a sledge hammer – it pays to be subtle at times.

—
This post was written as an official entry to the Philippine Travel Bloggers Blog Carnival on Quirky Food. I know this is nowhere as quirky as the other food posted but the tibok-tibok is just as interesting and I dare say, just as delicious.

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It’s a good mix of songs from the band’s early beginnings to the new tracks of the new album. It gives the listener a chance to appreciate the musical journey of Deftones as well as the duality of the band’s sound – from the loud and aggressive to the most ambient and strangely soothing songs.

Here are the songs on my  Deftones wish list. Fortunately, four of the five songs I listed were played in the concert in France. “Passenger” will be a tough song to do without Maynard James Keenan.

So just you don’t forget, the concert is on February 12, 2011 (8PM) at the World Trade Center. Tickets are being sold at 5000 (VIP), 3500 (gold) and 1500 (silver). This event is being presented by the awesome people from Splintr and Dickies. The concert is part of Deftones’ worldwide concert tour to push their latest album Diamond Eyes.

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After taking a trip to Kalinga with a my friend Eazy Traveler, I was amazed with the images that he was able to take. E.A.Z.Y. is actually an acronym for his name – Edgar Alan Zeta-Yap. If you’ve read a copy of Cebu Pacific Smile magazine in the past two years, you would have probably seen his feature stories. He usually uses his trusty Canon G11 – a light, yet powerful device that allows for the customization of settings like a good DSLR but still not fussy to intimidate a novice like me.

Towards the latter end of 2010, I had the opportunity to have my grubby hands on a Canon G11. It was a great experiment on how much of taking good photos is up to the operator’s ability and just how important the camera was. I took the camera to a couple of trips over a few weeks and I must say – I think I lucked out with a few really good shots.

This was a photo of a local Mangyan boy that I took during a trek to a certain water fall near Puerto Galera’s Aninuan Beach. I totally lucked out on this one. His eyes are just piercing through the lens and the imperfections of the thatched walls also send a sense of great “drama” to the shot. Okay, I might be over thinking this one but I was really impressed with how this turned out. This is easily the best shot I’ve ever taken. This won’t win any contest (auto focus settings!) but I think it’s decent enough to look at. There seems to be a story – at least in my head. There are ten other photos like this in the memory card and they weren’t nearly as good. I guess one really has to keep taking shots.

I also went scuba diving shortly after the trip to Puerto Galera. This was taken in Anilao, Mabini, Batangas. This was the very boat that we took to the Mainit and Kirby’s Point dive sites. Both of them were interesting and exciting dives that allowed me and my dive buddies to spend around 1.5 hours underwater. The Canon G11 is apparently very popular among divers as well. A lot of divers had a reaction upon seeing the camera slung on my neck. Apparently, many of them use the G11 model as their camera of choice for underwater photography. I’ve seen some of the images and yes, the camera seems to stand up to other more expensive cameras. Sadly, I didn’t have an underwater case for that trip.

Even at the most simple settings, the camera manages to make the colors pop out. This is us in between dives. We’re fiddling with the scuba gear just before another tour underneath the waves. The framing is crap but you can definitely see the vibrancy of the hues.

This is the only shot of me with Imelda Marcos anywhere on the internet. Also, this is the only positive thing to have come out of the PILIPINAS, KAY GANDA campaign by the Department of Tourism.

I also used the camera to take really close-up shots of food. This is a serving of Palabok from Susie’s Cuisine; one of Pampanga’s most loved local eateries. This hearty plateful is only 50 pesos! The one at the rear is the delectable and almost sickeningly-sweet moche.

This is one of the best desserts I’ve ever had – Susie’s Cuisine’s Tibok-tibok. It’s hard to describe it. It’s somehow similar to maja blanca but the consistency is so different. It’s very creamy and milky, thanks in large part to the use of carabao’s milk which is a lot more fatty (and fattening!) compared to cow’s milk. The camera sure allowed for a very sharp and detailed shot of this dish. I bet you almost wish the image were real – heck, I’m ready to attack my monitor with a fork now!

The verdict

For the most part, the camera was very easy to use and having EAZY around made it easier for me to work with the settings and try more ambitious shots. I suppose the Canon G11 allows for great customization and control that a photography aficionado would demand from a camera but the same model also allows for complete novices to just have fun and luck out every one hundred shots.

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After doing the ballsy move of taking Nine Inch Nails to town August of last year, Splintr is at it again and now, they’ve put together yet another concert that could one of the best to ever hit the country. Chino Moreno and the rest of Deftones are coming over on February 12 2011 at the World Trade Center (Pasay City) to hold a show to promote their newest album Diamond Eyes.

I am personally excited for this concert since I’ve been listening to Deftones for over the last ten years. Anyone who lived through turn of the decade and listened to NU107 would have been very familiar with the hauntingly beautiful Be Quiet and Drive and the almost ethereal sexual innuendos of Digital Bath. Vocalist Chino Moreno has one of the most unique voices in modern rock and the music has always managed to become ambient but still very heavy despite being somewhat soothing at the same time. I actually have three (White Pony, Around The Fur and the self-titled album) physical albums of this band – that’s a big deal nowadays considering the sheer popularity of P2P.

Tickets are already available at Ticketworld (891-9999). VIP tickets are for 5000, gold tickets go for 3500 and the silver tickets are at 1500. You can also check out your favorite record bars for the new Diamond Eyes album.

If you dig rock (then or now), please try to go to this concert. We need to prove to concert promoters and foreign rock bands (that we actually want to go here) that the Philippines can hold a concert like this and we’re also fanatical about great rock music.

It’s less than two months away and I’m excited. Thank you Splintr!

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The name Jolina would be the last name that should be attached to Nine Inch Nails and Trent Reznor but during late July and early August, it sure was the biggest thing on my mind. I was out on holiday with my girlfriend in Coron, Palawan. It was supposed to be only a four-day thing but it ended up being nine – thus putting my whole chance to attend the concert in doubt. No  flights were leaving Coron for four days and we were forced to forfeit our tickets and just take our chances with a ferry. I’ve never taken a ferry and it was absolutely horrendous.

I was able to make it the day before the concert and I was able to get my tickets from Splintr. After getting the tickets though, I got sideswiped by a car in Makati. That’s what I tell other people at least – in reality, I just tripped and fell. So yeah, when Trent was singing about “Hurt” – it did really hurt on my end. And we all know that the song is already emotionally-incisive.

I was able to make it and that’s what matters.

the concert videos are finally up on Splintr.com but will be there from August 5 to October 5, 2010 only.

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My family has always been in the food business so it just makes sense that I’ll also be into cooking, right? I’ve tried to cook for a couple of years now but I really want to take it to the next level. I started a new website called The Amateur Cook to force to cook dishes every day. I was very inspired by watching the second season of Masterchef Australia.

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I signed up late for the Rexona Run but I have actually been at the peak of my running in the past few weeks. I’ve been really trying my best to run at least 6 kilometers three to four times a week and when my body and time permits, I try to run all the way to the SM Mall of Asia to deviate from my usual circuit along Roxas Boulevard. I had the chance to run almost the exact course that the Rexona Run would involve so I had a good handle of what to expect. It was to be my first 10km event after a string of 5km runs – known to more senior runners as mere “fun runs”.

The first road race I joined was Condura and it was a tough dose of reality to deal with. I got really winded during certain parts of the course and I even had to resort to walking during a few stretches. It was a very humbling experience. My time was also very forgettable.

The goal for most 5km runners is to finish the race in 30 minutes or less. I’ve been able to do this twice now (Globe and Milo) so it felt like I needed to move up a bit. I’ve never been a speedy runner but I feel like I could sustain a reasonable pace – like around 8-9km/hr perhaps – for a distance longer than 5km.

As with a lot of things, I was very anxious the night before the run. I had trouble sleeping – and yes, I ended up NOT sleeping at all. I think I’ve failed to sleep in just about every run I’ve had.

I got ready at around 4AM and by 430, I was off to the Mall of Asia. I didn’t register early enough so I had an XL sized singlet from Rexona. The shirt was at least a size larger than what I needed so I ended up wearing a Nike singlet instead. I wore my trusty Supernova Sequence from Adidas – a pair that is now hopelessly out of stock in a lot of Adidas stores in Manila.

The layout was quite compact and organized. The bag check was very near the assembly areas and was very accessible from the starting and finish lines. There was a good crowd of people at the start line, it seems like any event that carries the Runrio name is assured of a great deal of following.

Here’s how my race went:

Pre start:

After depositing my bag and braving the long lines to the portalet for the obligatory pre-race pee, I made my way to the assembly to do a bit of stretching and warm up jog (I think I did one circuit around the block). I was feeling a bit tired from not having any sleep but I rested a great deal two days in anticipation of race day.

I tried to squeeze myself to the front of the pack as much as possible. I didn’t try too hard to get in front since I’m no “elite runner”. I was hoping though that I’ll be at least faster than half of the people who registered.

Gun!

I was pretty close to the start line – my gun time and chip time are just six seconds apart. I don’t think this has happened before!

I immediately felt that my right ankle and foot were feeling funny. It’s almost like they were freezing up on me and the sensation was very similar to pain but not quite. Just like in previous runs – whether in a race or during training – I chose to ignore the feeling and just channel my attention to something else.

I held my my phone during the race to allow me to to monitor my race time as I ran along the course.

1-2km

I think I was hitting my stride really well during this time. I covered my first kilometer in about 5:20 and my second one in about 5:10. How did I know? Runrio has made the course so detailed that each kilometer is well marked! Each water station is also positioned every 1.5 km. This is probably the new standard for water stations following the harrowing tragedy that happened to runner Remus Fuentes during the Milo Marathon.

I’ve ran a 5km race without having to drink a sip of water during the entire way but at around 1.5 I took the precaution of hydrating just in case I overheat or suddenly cramp up.

3 km

At around the 3km mark, I started feeling a very strange feeling in the left lower quadrant of my abdomen. I knew it had to be nothing serious – maybe just a muscle cramping up – but it was really uncomfortable. I tried to my best to ignore the pain and just push on.  I ended up taking another bottle of water from the 3km water station. I held the bottle and poured around 80% of the contents over my head and gargled the rest of it to just prevent my mouth from drying up.

I noticed that my clocking was already at around 16:45 at this stage of the race – meaning I’ve slowed down by almost a minute from my starting pace.

4-6km

This was the toughest stretch of the race for me. My legs were starting to ache and my abdominal pain wasn’t going away. I was slightly worried since I was used to running longer distances than this. I tried to channel everything I had to running and my mind started drifting off to things that I have to do next time  - 1) make sure I sleep before the race, 2) get a cap to protect me from the sun and 3) invest in a hydration belt.

Yes, I ended up taking water from both the 4.5 and 6km water stations. My 5km split was around 28:30 but there was so mat at this particular part of the course. That was a bit strange, right?

At that split, I knew my goal of getting 55 minutes was now impossible and going under 60 was in serious danger.

7 km

Fortunately, my body started cooperating and the pain went away. I also started noticing a lot of runners trying to break away from the middle pack and just run a lot faster than they have.

It was surreal to see a lot of walkers at this point in the race. I guess they burned themselves out during the early goings and have nothing left to finish strong.

8km

This was it! I needed to sprint. It was now or never. I looked at my phone – the time read I was already at 50 minutes – my last three kilometers were probably decent but it wasn’t enough to get me back on track. I had to run at 12.0 km/hr for the last two kilometers if I wanted a realistic shot at beating one hour. I knew it was an uphill climb but I still tried anyway.

9km

People were really slowing down during this part. Some were walking and a good number were also jogging at an easy pace. I tried to pass as many people as possible during this time. I must have easily passed a couple of dozen of people in a few minutes. The crowd was also starting to thicken – it really required a lot of maneuvering to get around the racers at this point.

A handful of other runners were also trying to sprint to the finis

Finish line

I crossed the line a couple of minutes after my goal of 60 minutes. According to the official results, it took me 1 hour 3 minutes and 13 seconds to complete the course – good enough for 309th place out of 1911 runners. I guess that’s good enough for now but I swear I know I could do a lot better than that! I can’t wait to get out there and tackle the course again. I’m sure with a few hours rest and without a nagging abdominal muscle to deal with, I could smash through 60 minutes easily.

I will train harder to make it happen. It was a disappointing result but at least it’s still on page 7 out of 39.

My biggest weakness really is that I can’t run fast. I can probably run longer distances than the average runner but I can’t sprint to save my life. I haven’t really trained for sprinting in the past and I hope to incorporate it to my training schedule in preparation for future races.

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