EMONG'S JOURNALS

Actress Erich Gonzales is the 2018 calendar girl of Tanduay Rhum. The 27-year-old from Davao City, who first rose to prominence in 2009 as the teenage mother in the TV adaptation of the 1980 film Katorse, was formally introduced as the face of the sought-after calendar of the popular liquor brand during its press launch earlier this week. “The year of 2018 will be an exciting time for both Erich and Tanduay as they drive a momentum for the Tanduay Experience—being more aggressive in the digital and content space, leveraging on augmented realities and virtual experiences, being first in bold executions, and creating daring properties that all encapsulate everyone’s #TibayNgLoob ,” Tanduay executives said. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

It looks these films had given Vice Ganda, Vic Sotto and Mother Lily a run for their money. The 2016 Metro Manila Filmfest (MMFF), which starts December 25, is showcasing eight (8) revolutionary movies this year. Seven independent films (Die Beautiful, Kabisera, Saving Sally, Seklusyon, Sunday Beauty Queen, Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 2, Oro), and one mainstream movie (Vince & Kath & James) made it to the final list of entries. Revisionists as these films may all seem to be, the mainstream moviemakers are thinking otherwise - claiming that "there is a time for the indie movie, but not for Christmas season," that "quality is subjective," and that the MMFF failed to "respect the taste of moviegoers." Well, we think otherwise, too. We thought we're finally free (at last!) from all those gay slapstick comedy, aging fantasyland swordsmen, horror trilogies and Tsinoy wannabes. Pick your favorites below! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST?...

It's not much of a fight, but let's admit it -- we WERE entertained. The Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) Baron Geisler vs Kiko Matos fight event had the two actors whacking each other in a two-round mixed martial arts exhibition fight held at the Valkyrie in Taguig City on Saturday, June 25. Some were frustrated yet more were amused. It was a street brawl between two men letting off their steam inside the URCC octagon. There weren't a lot of punches thrown, nor were there kicks flying out in mid-air like in the regular MMA fights that we've seen so far. Nonetheless, the event did earn plenty of cheers from the crowd. All 3 judges scored the fight 19-19 -- DRAW. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

It's Independence Day! So let's talk about patriots and heroes. President-elect Rodrigo Duterte had been hugging the headlines lately with his engaging but very delightful rhetorics. Let's admit it. All those "tough talks" remind us of the original badass hero of the country. Here's a few quotes from the movie, "Heneral Luna": 1. "Artikulo Uno: Ang hindi sumunod sa utos ng punong heneral ay tatanggalan ng ranggo at ipapapatay ng walang paglilitis sa hukumang militar." 2. "Mga inutil! Hindi tayo namamasyal!" 3. "Para kayong mga birheng naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta!" 4. "Ganito ba talaga ang tadhana natin? Kalaban ng kalaban. Kalaban ng kakampi. Nakakapagod." 5. "Nasubukan mo na bang hulihin ang hangin?" 6. "Negosyo o kalayaan? Bayan o sarili? Pumili ka!" 7. "Ano bang akala niya? Ibang bansa na ang Cavite?" 8. "Nasa ibang ulo ang utak ng inyong ka...

Enough with those silly 2016 election bickering. Let's hear some major comic laughs! UP student Joierie Ann Pacumio, who impersonated vice-presidential candidate Leni Robredo, literally brought the house down during the three-day "Live A.I.D.S. HA-LOL-AN" recently held at the Abelardo Hall of the University of the Philippines. Watch the video below and see for yourself. The "HA-LOL-AN 2016" is organized by UP SAMASKOM, a student organization based in UP College of Mass Communication. (screenshot from PalaBuzz Feed video)

Culture Club performs in Manila for a two-night concert on June 17 & 18 at 8pm at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. The Manila concert is part of Culture Club's world tour for their new album, "Tribe." Popularly considered as a new wave icon during the 1980's, the Culture Club hits includes "Karma Chameleon," "I Know You Miss Me," "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?," "It's a Miracle," and "Love is Love," Tickets are at PHP2,000, PHP3,500, PHP5,5000, PHP10,500, PHP13,500 and PHP15,000 via Ticketnet.com.ph . WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

Reigning Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach graces the cover of Cosmopolitan Magazine's April 2016 issue. Pia, 26, is the third Miss Universe from the Philippines after Gloria Diaz in 1969, and Margie Moran in 1973. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

Summer means more beach bodies! This April 2016, Metro Magazine is featuring Coleen Garcia on the its cover and topbills their annual #MetroBody2016 issue. Coleen, 23, wears a flesh-toned swimwear at a pool in Solaire resort. Metro magazine is now available on your favorite newsstands and bookstores nationwide. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

While most Easter Sunday events for children will make you shell out very hard-earned cash, the Great Easter Eggspedition at the Robinsons Malls is absolutely the opposite. On March 27, starting from 10:00 am and onwards, selected Robinsons malls will be holding Easter egg hunts, magic shows, arts and crafts workshops especially made for your kids - free of charge. Games and prizes await kiddie participants. Participating branches are Robinsons Metro East, Forum Robinsons, Robinsons Place Antipolo, Robinsons Place Las Piñas, Robinsons Otis, Robinsons Cainta, Robinsons Place Malolos, Robinsons Place Imus, Robinsons Place Dasmariñas, Robinsons Place Lipa, Robinsons Sta. Rosa, Robinsons Town Mall Los Baños and Summit Ridge Promenade. Admission is free. For more details, click  HERE . WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

A Leap Year comes around every four years unless... of course, it couldn’t be that simple! The present calendar, which came after the old Julian calendar, was revised under Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The Gregorian calendar kept the extra day every four years, except in years that ended in 00 — unless those years were divisible by the number 400. For example, the year 1900 would not have an extra day, but the year 2000 would have (because 2000 is divisible by 400). It sounds complicated, but the Gregorian calendar was a simple improvement over the Julian, and most of the world adopted it. Here are some fun facts about the Leap Year that’s really worth to know: 1. What is a Leap Year, and why do we have it? A leap year is a year containing one additional day (February 29) added to keep the Gregorian calendar (365 days) synchronized with the orbit of the earth around the sun, which is about 365.2422 days. 2. Why February? During the reign of the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar...

The fourth edition of Art Fair Philippines happens from February 18 to 21, 2016 at The Link Carpark in Makati. Carrying the theme, “World’s window to Philippine art.” the exhibit will have 40 participating galleries spread across an area space of 6,374 square meters. Among these galleries are: 1335 Mabini, Altro Mondo Arte Contemporanea, Archivo 1984 Gallery, Arndt, Art Cube Artesan Gallery + Studio, ArtInformal, Art Verite Gallery, Avellana Art Gallery, Blanc, Boston Art Gallery, CANVAS, Edouard Malingue Gallery, Equator Art Projects, Finale Art File, Gajah Gallery, Galeria Cayon, Galleria Duemila, Galerie Michael Janssen, Galerie Stephanie, Galerie Anna, Gallery Kogure, Gallery Orange, J Studio, MO_Space, Nunu Fine Art, PABLO< Paseo Art Gallery, Pinto Art Gallery, Salcedo Private View, Secret Fresh, Silverlens, TAKSU Gallery, The Crucible, The Drawing Room, Tin-Aw Art Gallery, Vinyl on Vinyl, west Gallery, Yavuz Gallery, and YOD Gallery. Brisbane-based Filipino artists, Al...

Are you ready for the 360-degrees technology in photos and videos? Ricoh Theta S, the same and only camera accredited by Google to shoot Street View images is now available in the Philippines. The new techie device no bigger than a regular sized smartphone comes with a 14-megapixel camera,  and can shoot stills and videos in a stunning, spherical 360-degrees. It has autofocus functions and carries a very bright aperture of F2. The video mode is in full HD (1920 x 1080), 30 fps (frames per second) with 25 minutes of continuous shooting. FEATURES: HD Live Streaming - 360° images and videos can be streamed live and in real time. Live View - Exposure and white balance can be adjusted while shooting using the dedicated smartphone app.  Long Exposure - Shutter speed can be set from 1/6400 sec. to 60 seconds 8GB Memory - Still images: (L) Approx. 1600, (M) approx. 9000. Video (total recording time): (L) approx. 65 minutes, (M) approx. 175 minutes. USB Terminal ...

The 2016 reigning Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach is coming home on January 23. As such,  a homecoming parade is scheduled on January 25 (Monday) taking her on the roads of Metro Manila. Eleven roads to be exact. Thus, if you want to catch a glimpse of the prettiest girl in the universe, make sure you're in one of these streets when her motorcade passes by -- as follows: 1. Hotel Sofitel to V. Sotto Street 2. Jaladoni Street 3. Bukaneg Street 4. Roxas Boulevard 5. Padre Burgos Street 6. N. Lopez Street 7. A. Villegas to Taft Avenue 8. Quirino Avenue 9. Buendia Avenue 10. Ayala (from the Fire Station to Rustans) 11. Novo Hotel towards EDSA Expect a lot of traffic in the area so plan your alternate routes early on. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

Good news first! NetFlix has already arrived in the Philippines -- everybody can now get to watch those television shows and movies they love. But not really. The bad news... Around 93 percent of titles available on Netflix in the United States are not available in the Philippines. :(  , and that's according to a website called Finder. Finder also has the full list of movies and television shows so you'd find it easier to decide which of them you want to see first. NetFlix plan rates in the Philippines are at P370 (basic), P460 (standard) to P550 (premium). For a full list of NetFlix movies, click HERE . For a full list of their TV shows, click HERE . NOTE: When in the Finder page, Use CTRL+F to search for a particular title. Enjoy! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

Which movie topped the Metro Manila Film Festival 2015...? According to data from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the box office raked in more than P150 million on its first day, around P3 million higher than last year's. Out of the eight MMFF entries, four movies stood out as Christmas Day top grossers, reported in an article from the Manila Bulletin , as follows: "My Bebe Love," (GMA Films) with gross sales of P64.2 million; "Beauty and the Bestie," (Star Cinema/Viva Films) P39.7 million; “Haunted Mansion,” P19.5 million; and “All You Need Is Pag-Ibig,” P5.8 million. The remaining four films: “Walang Forever,” P4.9 million; “Buy Now, Die Later,” P4.4 million; “Honor Thy Father,” P3.9 million, and “Nilalang,” P1.7 million. "My Bebe Love" is topbilled by Vic Sotto and Ai Ai Delas Alas with popular "Aldub" loveteam Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza. According to Manila Bulletin , these figures are still unofficia...

It was a very brief "walk-down-the-aisle" for Miss Colombia, who was crowned Miss Universe 2015. The crowd were all cheering, then the host, Steve Harvey, suddenly realized he had made a terrible mistake -- misreading his cue card which listed the name of the winners. At that moment, Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutiérrez, was already wearing the Miss Universe crown and was waving profusely at the audience, holding a bouquet of flowers with all glitter and glory. It was also at this moment when Harvey re-appeared on the stage and said: “O.K., folks, uh, there’s. ... I have to apologize.” “The first runner-up is Colombia,” “Miss Universe 2015 is Philippines,” The actual winner, Miss Philippines, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, looks in confusion and shock. It was all awkward moments right after that, caught in the epic 5-minute video below. WATCH: WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

Behind every cute girl on Instagram is a man... and a brick wall. The hilarious "Instagram Husbands" video on YouTube, created by The Mystery Hour, hits a little too close to home as they tell the stories of men who are getting sick and tired of taking photos for their partner's Instagram pages. The clip is part of the website InstagramHusband.com , a venue for men who are forever stuck as the designated Instagram photographer. One Instagram Husband, named H. Blair wrote on the website, "All vacation & every second. Had. To. Take. A. Photo. I think I saw the camera more than the water." "We used to eat our food. Now, we just take pictures of it," says another Instagram Husband named Trey. “My job in pictures is to make her look good,” says Jeff, also an Instagram Husband. “There are many Instagram Husbands out there, and we want you to know that you are not alone,” the clip says. “If you or someone you know is an Instagram Husband, he...

We always knew they would come back! After 20 years since the first ID4 (Independence Day) movie was released comes its sequel, the most anticipated event movie of 2016: INDEPENDENCE DAY RESURGENCE. Set in the present-day, 20 years after the aliens were defeated by the united countries of Earth led by US President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) and tech genius David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum), the extra-terrestrials are at it again, this time fielding a much bigger large-scale attack on our world. Earth had been using recovered alien technology with the help of David, but the aliens have brought with them a more advanced, sophisticated weaponry. The nations of the world must unite once more to bring our planet back from the brink of extinction. Reprising their original roles, the movie stars Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox and Brent Spiner, with newcomers Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Joey King, Angelabab...

So, how did the entire "Star Wars" universe started? As the full cinematic release of Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens edges ever closer, fanboys started to foam at the mouth with anticipation. But not everybody was born in the Star Wars era. That's why YouTube's VariantComics had created a short ( but awesome ) video on the origins of the whole Star Wars epic saga. Watch the clip below, enjoy! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.

Rock band Kamikazee is set to play live together for the very last time in what every die-hard fan can consider as one of the all-time greatest moments in pop culture. The creators of several iconic songs like "Narda", "Seksi Seksi!" and "Martyr Nyebera" will perform their final gig "Huling Sayaw" on Thursday, December 10 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City. Joining Kamikazee are popular rock bands Urbandub, Queso and ChicoSci. Kamikazee, formed in 2000, is composed of Jay Contreras on vocals, Jomal Linao and Led Tuyay on guitars, bassist Puto Astete and drummer Bords Burdeos. Huling Sayaw: The Final Show, produced by Spicy Lemon, happens on December 10, 2015 8:00pm. Ticket prices start at P650. You can get your tickets on Ticketnet . WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS POST? Share your ideas by commenting.