The much-awaited Hot Air Balloon Fest is here once again!

The 2012 Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta will feature exciting aerial exhibitions including paragliding, skydiving, aerobatic stunts and the most beautiful hot-air balloons from around the world.

From Thursday February 9 to Sunday February 12, two flights per day are scheduled, one at 5:30 am and one at around 5:20 in the afternoon, depending on the weather conditions.

What to bring:

• sunglasses
• sunblock
• wide-brimmed hat
• umbrella
• money for food and souvenirs
• comfortable footwear
• binoculars
• hand sanitizer (for after using the portable toilets)

• Come early – the balloons lift off at 5:30am. Consider going to Clark the night before and sleeping over in a hotel. It’s worth it to see the flag jump and balloon launch!
• Avoid heatstroke! Water and sports drinks are available for reasonable prices from our many concessionaires. Remember, if you feel thirsty, it means you’re already mildly dehydrated.
• Don’t touch the airplanes! If you break it, you buy it.
• Stay away from propellers, rotors, and jet engines.
• Stay out of restricted areas – the US Air Force and AFP are on patrol, and Clark is our most important air base. Obey the rules and report any suspicious activity to our friendly security staff.

Stuff you can do:

• Watch the all-day aircraft shows
• Buy and fly a kite
• Eat big at our concessionaires
• Grab all sorts of cool souvenirs
• Look around the various displays
• Meet and hang out with real live pilots and ground crew
• Most importantly: have fun!

Getting There:
By Car

OPTION 1: NLEX DAU EXIT

• Take the North Luzon Expressway and exit at Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga.
• Make a left turn after the exit off-ramp, heading towards Angeles City
• Take another left at the t-intersection past the bus terminals
• Follow MacArthur Highway southbound, then make a right to enter Clark Special Economic zone. This is right after the entrance to SM City Clark.
• Enter thru the main gate and follow M.A. Roxas highway until you see the fiesta grounds on your right.

OPTION 2: SCTEX

• Take the North Luzon Expressway and continue into the SCTEX.
• Take the southbound SCTEX lane toward Subic/Olongapo
• Use the next exit, “Clark South Exit”
• Turn right after the toll booth
• Take another right when you reach NAIA Gateway Ave, near the GCLC fountain
• Follow this road until you reach the main highway (M.A. Roxas) and take a right
• The fiesta grounds will be on your right.

By Bus

OPTION 1

• Victory Liner or 5 Star (terminals located in Pasay and Cubao)
• Take a north bound bus to Dau.
• There are jeepneys and tricycles readily available by the highway that will bring you to Clark Main gate
• At the Clark main gate, you can choose to ride another jeepney or a taxi going to the event site

OPTION 2

• Philtranco (bus stop at the back of SM Megamall and terminal in Pasay)
• Philtranco has a direct bus trip to Clark/DMIA. See their website for their bus schedule

By Air

There are 5 airline companies offering plane rides going to Clark

• Air Asia
• Asiana
• Cebu Pacific
• Seair
• Tiger airways

Check their websites to find out more about their flight schedule and route.

Press Release:

At the break of dawn on February 9, 2012, Hot Air Balloons of all shapes and sizes will fill the skies of Pampanga and its neighboring areas to signal the opening of the 17th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta – a yearly grand gathering of hot air balloons and many other interesting human creations that fly and conquer the skies.

Traditionally marked by exciting festivities that draw thousands of people not only from local communities but foreign places as well, the PIHABF promises to keep heads always looking upwards during the entire four-day celebration to be held at the fiesta site, Air Force City, DiosdadoMacapagal International Airport in Clark Field, Pampanga. Last year’s PIHABF visitors breached the 80,000 mark.

Joining the colorful and uniquely-designed hot air balloons that will be dominating the skies of Central Luzon are transport and trainer planes, ultra-light aircraft and helicopters, some of which will be conducting a series of fly-bys to delight the spectators. This year’s major attraction will be a US Air Force F-16 doing flight demonstrations. Capt. MeynardHalili will spear head the thrilling aerobatics show that will also be staged by ace pilots from the foreign countries.

Used to be shown only on Philippine television as executed by pilots from other nations, dare devil aerial stunts by classic biplane built in the 1940s, The restored PT13 Stearman is also lined up for the event. Brand new Airbus 320s, gigantic military C17, and a CN235 will also be on static display.

Capt. Joy Roa, heading the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, said that following the success of the previous PIHABF festivities, event organizers were even more challenged to come up with new and more surprises on the realm of hot air balloon venture and aviation spectacles to be staged by aviation enthusiasts from USA, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, The Netherlands, Austria, Japan, England and South Korea.

Special-shaped hot air balloons, which include a car-shaped cutie from Germany, a daisy flower, ice cream cone, and a birthday cake from the United States, “Iwi the Kiwi” from New Zealand and several other regularly shaped huge “flying bubbles” will take the center stage of the festivities.

A fiesta not only coined for fathers and other macho-thinking individuals who love sky stunts and sleek aircrafts, the 17th PIHABF will also cater to moms and their children who are not so attached to machines that defy gravity can go for other “never-a-dull-moment” activities such as watching skydivers from the Brunei, Malaysia and even from the Philippine National Police make heart pumping mass formation in the sky after jumping from an altitude of not less than 5,000 feet.

Sitting on triangular parachutes powered by lightweight motors, local and foreign paragliders will show spectators that flying could be easy…at least from the spectator’s point of view.

With the tempo from marching bands, they can also watch precision drills from different military teams and flying dance shows amid a wide static display of unique airplanes – even those that will bring you back to memory lane on the spectacular history of aviation.

Time will also fly for creative kids who will prefer to stay comfortably at the Children’s Activity Center sponsored by Crayola and Hot Dog on Sticks. From there, they will be taught on kite-making, flight simulators and aviation workshops.

While munching delicious fiesta food, kids can also watch Remote Control car and aircraft competition on specially designated spots.

In case you become mesmerized with flying, display booths of flying schools are within the site for prospective student pilots.

This year’s sponsors include Caltex, Hotdog on Sticks, Rudy Project, SM City Clark, Global Gateaway Logistics Corp., UPS, Krukspec, Isuzu Philippines, Crayola, Sunkist, Philippine Daily Inquirer, ROX Recreational Outdoor Exchange, Yellow Cab Pizza, Close Up, Alveoland, Department of Tourism, Fontana and Air Asia.

For more details, please contact the fiesta committee at (02) 384 0085 / info@philballoonfest.net or check PIHABF website: www.philballoonfest.net

The Star Wars saga is a modern-day fairy tale reflecting the vision of George Lucas. Lucas imbued this new myth with pieces of American pop culture, including movie westerns, swashbucklers and – for seasoning – Japanese samurai epics. Star Wars was also a reaction against Watergate, Vietnam and other periods of domestic turmoil that seemed to undermine the concept of the hero for disillusioned Americans.

With the Star Wars saga, Lucas decided to bring together these recognizable, modern-day threads under the umbrella of the basic mythic structure – the journey of the hero – that has been in place for thousands of years, in hundreds of civilizations. With its mix of the traditional and the modern, Star Wars’ new mythology thrilled young and old alike.

Now, with “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” converted into 3D, Lucas takes us back to the beginning, in which Darth Vader is a hopeful nine-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a determined young Jedi knight. This first chapter, which is rich in art, design, costumes, architecture and technology, follows Anakin’s journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.

George Lucas, the pioneering and brilliant filmmaker behind STAR WARS, has overseen the process with his renowned attention to detail. John Knoll, the visual effects supervisor for Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was responsible for the actual conversion. He served as Visual Effects Supervisor on all three of the Star Wars prequels. The remaining five STAR WARS films will be converted to 3D over the coming years.

“I’m really excited about the new big screen release of the film. We’ve worked very hard to get the best quality 3D we could. The big screen experience is so much better than watching it on television. It was designed to put you in the environment and surround you with the sound and the picture. There is nothing like it. I’m so glad that we were able to bring this whole experience to the next generation. This will be the third generation that will be able to see it on the big screen and when you’re young, it’s an overwhelming and powerful event,” Lucas shares on converting Episode 1 into 3D.

Lucas further shares on challenges faced on converting the movie to 3D – “Originally, I was not a big fan of 3D. I really thought 3D was a gimmick. Then later on I was trying to get digital projectors into the theaters. I was doing a presentation in Las Vegas. Bob Zemeckis and Jim Cameron came up to me and said: ‘We want to get 3D into the theaters. Would you join us in showing the theater owners that you can do 3D?’ And I said: ‘That’d be good because in order to do 3D you have to have digital theaters. So it would promote my idea of digital theaters.’ Then when I saw the test that we did of STAR WARS in 3D, I realized how great it was and how great it looked. I became fascinated with the idea of converting STAR WARS into 3D, which was easier said than done. It took us a long time to develop a structure in which we could actually do a really good conversion of a 2D film into a 3D film.”

“I don’t like things coming out into the audience. I like everything to be behind the proscenium. I think 3D is an art. You need artists who have a sensibility about where things fit in the frame. It’s very subtle but it’s very, very important. We had an advantage because we had experts in visual effects like John Knoll. We had the skill set of ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) and people who had worked in 3D on films, including “Avatar.” So we could get a group of people together that could actually do this,” concludes Lucas.

“Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace” in 3D comes to theaters on February 9 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

click image to enlarge

How to get a free Coke:

• Simply go to any participating establishment (listed below).
• Queue up at the counter between 1:30-4:30 PM.
• Consumers can only claim one (1) 8oz. regular Coca-Cola each time they line up.
• Available only until supply lasts.

Participating Establishments
Nationwide:
Mang Inasal
Red Ribbon (Free Butter Mamon for first 100 customers between 1:30-4:30pm only)
7-Eleven
Goldilocks
Hen Lin
Shopwise Soda Fountain
Green Mango
Floyd’s
Andoks

GMA:
Avenetto Pizzeria Ristorante
Scottland, Inc.
The Spa
Pollo Loco (Ground Floor Mega Mall),
Moshi-Moshi
KVGKCC Inc.Real Thing Diner
Festival Mall Food Court
Star Mall Food Court
Tongyang
Mexicali
Agave
Ma Mon Luk
Q.C. Sports Club

South Luzon:
Biggs-Gen. Luna
Buddy Pizza
Graceland III
Graceland-Pacific Mall Food Court
Granceland 7
Benzon Burger
Sta. Teresa College
Pacific Mall Food Court
Biggs-Legaspi
Graceland Benjos-Tabaco Legaspi
Kisonsis Enterprise
Sienalos Bakeshop Restaurant
Romeros Bakery Foodhouse
Enchanted Kingdom

Visayas:

CEBU -
Harbour City Group
Orange Brutus
Flame It
Manila Foodshoppe
Moon Cafe
Sunburst
TAGBILARAN -
Alturas Foodmix
/ICM Foodwalk,
BQ Fastfood
BACOLOD -
Chinkys
Chicken Deli
Cafe Bobs
L’SEA
ILOILO -
JD Bakeshop
Ocean City

Mindanao:

DAVAO:
Gaisano Grand Tagum Food Court,
Victoria Plaza Fast food
Pritong Manok Outlets
Astro Shoppers Outlets
GEN. SAN:
Gaisano Grand Food Court Koronadal
Ace Centerpoint Fastfood
KMCC Food Court
Isulan Central Plaza Food Court
CDO:
Gaisano City Food Court
Limketkai Food Court
Gaisano Malaybalay Food Court
ZAMBOANGA:
Mindpro Citimall Food Court
Gaisano Ozamis Food Court
Gaisano Mall Iligan Food Court
Gaisano Capital Pagadian Food Court

Don’t forget to LIKE the Coca-Cola President for Happiness Fan Page and follow Caloy on Twitter @Coke_HappyPrez

What better way to celebrate Coke 100 years than to proclaim its own President for Happiness, Caloy. You have probably seen his commercial by now, that nervous-excited energy in a young man whose only aim is to make us Filipinos happy! And I’m pretty sure he will.

He presented a couple of his big ideas, but of course, being that he’s new at this, I’m sure he will appreciate comments and suggestions from who else, but you! Yes, YOU! So don’t you just sit there and watch the commercial, visit his Facebook page and follow Caloy on Twitter! The New President for Happiness needs all our support.

 You may watch his TVC below

1st Winner – Wallet, Skin Elixir Whitening Lotion and FAB Velvet Glow Blush
2nd Winner – Bliss Body Butter, Simply Pleasure Hand Sanitizer and Baby Bundle Cologne
3rd Winner – Skin Elixir Soap, Simply Pleasure Hand Sanitizer and Love Rush Baby Doll Lotion

Sponsors:
Coffeechic | Pinay Ads | Late Bloomer | Jenns Blog | if4sion | Beautylicious tips | Dins fashion | Samut Sari | Hobby Lovey Store | Vienna Daily | Princess Pinkalicious | Janet Luison | Manilenya Mom | Nitas Random Thoughts | Ruthlicious | The Workaholicme | Tinkerputt | I love Keisha | Yipeemedia | Fashionistainme | Trips and Travel | Live Life Fullest

Here’s How to Enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

During the meet up, I have learned that for only P20 a day, this amount can go a long way, especially to a child that one chooses to sponsor through World Vision.

It only takes…

• P600 monthly or P7,200 annually to sponsor 1 child
• P1,200 monthly or P14,400 annually to sponsor 2 children
• P3,000 monthly or P36,000 annually to sponsor 5 children

Your regular contributions will be pooled together with other World Vision resources so the children, families and communities may enjoy the following benefits:

• access to education, good health and nutrition
• values formation
• child rights protection
• children’s participation in decision-making process
• skills and leadership training; and
• community development projects

After the event, or even during the event, I am starting to appreciate life, how lucky I am, though I encounter several problems and other issues, how fortunate my life is, as compared to these children sponsored by World Vision. I just can’t imagine how these fragile and innocent children are going through just to survive each day of their lives. Now, it’s high time for me to appreciate what I have, what God has graced me with and where I am right now, despite the tribulations I am going through.

With this, I am now ready to support World Vision’s advocacy. As for you, my dear readers, who are interested to join me, let us take part and do our share. Together, even in a small way or a very little amount (only P20/day), we can help these children (and in a way, their families and their communities), live a healthy and productive life, as well as become successful in their own little way. Remember that before we can reach the top, we must first take small, single step and this act is just the beginning.

In line with this, I would like also to encourage you, to participate in the 1M41M campaign of Bench. The aim of the campaign is for Bench to reach 1Million Twitter followers by voting the celebrities found on their website, http://www.benchtm.com/1m41m/index.php. The celebrities who will garner the most number of votes will receive 1 million pesos for their chosen charity; Sam Concepcion has chosen World Vision as the recipient. You know, Sam has been supporting World Vision for several years already and in case he won in this campaign, he promised to donate the entire 1 Million pesos to World Vision. Since, it will not cost you anything to vote for Sam, I am asking for your help to support Sam Concepcion’s advocacy of helping World Vision by voting him in Bench Campaign.

World Vision is a Christian organization that advocates for the welfare of the children, their families, as well as, their communities to conquer poverty and injustice. World Vision is dedicated to extend assistance based on need and regardless of race, religion, gender or ethnicity.

World Vision is an accredited fund-raising institution that allows donors to avail of tax-deductable incentives in their donations.

• DSWD Authority No: 2003-016
• DSWD License No: SB-2004-1064 (as amended)
• DSWD Registration No: SB-R 172-04 (02-09-01)
• PCNC (Philippine Council for NGO Certification)
• SEC Reg. No: AN095-02579

To know more about World Vision Philippines, like World Vision on Facebook and visit their website at worldvision.org.ph

Together, we can make a difference.

The  Awarding Ceremony was hosted by Ms. Suzi Entrata-Abrera. a mom and TV Host.

Ajinomoto Executives opened the program with a special recognition to Philippine Culinary Icon, Ms. Nora Daza, for her significant contributions in the Food Industry. 

Pop Princess and AJI-GINISA endorser Sarah Geronimo performs before the crowd of culinary students and other guests during the the 3rd Umami Culinary Challenge Awarding Ceremony

The lists of winners are Miriam College, who won the Umami Bowl Award and brought home the Dr. Ikeda Award. Mr. John Paul Ventura from Jose Rizal University bagged the Umami Master title. Lyceum of the Philippines Manila topped the Umami Bento and Mystery Umami Ingredient categories. The Centro Escolar University won the first place in the Amazing AJI-GINISA Race, as well as the Umami Buzz Jeopardy Challenge.

Umami Bowl Winner Miriam College with presenters (from left to right) Ajinomoto Director Mr. Takashi Sakurai, Ajinomoto President Mr. Taro Fujie, 3rd UCC Head Chef Russell Bautista, 3rd UCC Competition Director Ms. Nancy Reyes-Lumen, Judge and Cooking Demonstrator Chef Rosebud Benitez.

Also, the Trinity University of Asia, De La Salle Araneta University, College of the Holy Spirit, the Global City Innovative College, American Hospitality Academy and MOST Institute Culinary School bagged special awards during the said event.

Of course, the Ajinomoto 3rd Umami Culinary Challenge became successful through the collective efforts of several sponsors such as the Glutamate Association of the Philippines (GAP), Elba, Whirlpool/Fujidenzo, Masflex, PR Gaz, Meat and Livestock Australia, and Anvil Publishing together with their media partners GMA 7, Appetite Magazine, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inquirer Libre and the PR Moms Network.

“Chronicle” is as real as it gets introducing the audience to Andrew (Dane Dehaan), Matt (Alex Russell) and Steve (Michael B. Jordan) – recognizable teens, each with a distinctive personality and each facing relatable challenges that come with being in high school, forming new friendships, and exploring new facets of their ever-changing lives. They’re imperfect, awkward, and a little reckless.

Their discovery leads them to acquire powerful telekinetic abilities; in graphic novel parlance, they have superpowers. They’re now capable of, well, almost anything. They can move objects just by thinking about them, crush cars through force of will. They learn to fly…the ultimate wish fulfillment. Then things get dark.

One of these teens could be you or could be amongst those close to us or our acquaintances. Dane DeHaan unleashes a powerful creeping performance as one of the lead stars in “Chronicle” and explains further his character, Andrew.

Q: Can you tell us about your character?
A: Andrew is a poor kid who comes from a rough family background. His mom is really sick and his dad is on disability from being a firefighter so for him, things are really tough. But his circumstances extend to other areas of his life as well. He is, by all means, a loser in school and not just a kid who goes under the radar, but the kind of kid that people really go out of their way to make fun of and bully. In that way he’s a victim.

Q: Do you think he struggles with the responsibility of the power?
A: Yes, but it’s not a case of “How responsible am I going to be with this power?” I think he just really enjoys having power, messing around and finally having friends. It does, in the end, overtake him.

Q: Is it more fun to play a character that is conflicted?
A: It’s always fun to play a complicated character, definitely. It’s not always fun to go to dark places, but it’s always fun to play a character who has such an extreme arc, who goes through so much. I don’t think I’ve ever played a character like him.

Q: How was the dynamic with the other actors?
A: It’s good. I always try to form some sort of relationship with the people I work with that mimics the relationship I have with them in the movie. I think we did a pretty good job of that. Michael, Alex and I have all become pretty close and friendly; we all have our inside jokes and we can poke fun at each other. We can hang out and have a good time. Doing that in our personal lives away from work has definitely had a positive influence on the movie.

Q: It’s a strange mix of a big action movie with the sensibilities of a character piece.
A: Yes, I think the movie does an incredibly good job of taking the concept, somebody getting superpowers, and dealing with that in a very realistic way. If a group of teens in real life actually got superpowers they would mess around with it, see how much fun they could have with it and eventually it would probably all spin out of control because they’ve been given way too much power. I think the reality of it is what truly drew me in.

Q: What’s it been like working with your director, Josh Trank, in his first film?
A: It was my first time working with a first time director. There is definitely an excitement and energy that goes along with that. I think that one of the cool things about the project is that we’re all around the same age in real life. All of us are still beginning our careers in many ways. Even though all of the actors have done other movies and TV shows we still have a youthful, “go get ‘em,” attitude. Josh matches that. In many ways he’s much more of a peer than any other director. He’s going through it for the first time, like us. There’s definitely an excitement to that.

Q: There’s a really interesting shooting style to the film, with the characters filming all of the scenes – how has that been to work with?
A: It’s great. It’s another reason why the film is so inventive. It’s found a way to do this kind of handheld stuff but used the reality of the circumstances to make it less dizzying and less gritty. It’s really interesting how every camera movement in the movie is really motivated and grounded in reality, as much as the plot and the characters and all the other elements.

Intense till the end, “Chronicle” opens February 2 in theaters (108) nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Playing bingo online is more manageable for me, as compared to going to malls and other bingo playing centers where I have to spend all my time playing there and be cautious and conscious with the other players. If I am playing online, I think that I own my time; I can manage my time and that I can stop anytime I want and attend to other things at the same time, like socializing with my friends through Facebook, video conferencing, downloading movies, updating my blogs and a lot of these worthwhile activities.

See the advantage of playing online as compared to playing the actual game where you need to focus and put all your attention to the game and your cards? With online games, you can do multitasking. Also, with this computer game, it is not hard to stop playing, I mean, you can walk out anytime, you can click the x button anytime (to stop the game), you can opt to pause the game, you can reset the game and a lot more of other options that are not available in the actual game setting.

Now doing this post has finally made me forget a stressful event.

Because I am somewhat health conscious (or so I think), so when I was asked if I can give Sunkist Orange Juice Drink a try, I said yes without any hesitation. Actually, my mom said that I used to prefer orange juice drinks over soft drinks during my younger years. So, I guess I should give this one a try and let’s see if I’m going to love it and say good bye to my favorite cola drink.

From California to the Philippines, Sunkist remains to be a world-renowned and trusted brand for quality oranges. For more than a decade, Filipinos have been enjoying the natural goodness of Sunkist products through RFM Corporation, Sunkist Growers Inc.’s only licensee in the Philippines.

Excited to try it, I immediately poured and filled the glass with Sunkist Orange juice. I felt some real orange pulp and I can say that the juice tasted a little bit sweet, just like what real orange tastes. With this, I am convinced that Sunkist Orange Juice Drink is a healthy juice drink that can be a good replacement or alternative to my usual soft drinks. Now, Sunkist will definitely be in my next grocery list.

For only Php 37, you and your family can have a liter of refreshing and healthy Sunkist orange juice drink. To know more about Sunkist, you can Like their Facebook page here, http://www.facebook.com/sunkistpulp and get to know the latest updates and promos.