Mutya ng Pilipinas 2013 winners

Resplendent in red

By Nico Erle Ciriaco

21-year-old looker Koreen Medina bested 30 other
aspirants and emerging as the 45th Filipina to win the Mutya ng Pilipinas
crown. The St. Paul University (QC) coed is one of two candidates who qualified
to represent the National Capital Region and Metro Manila. “I love to sing,”
gushed the Quezon City rep, when asked what she wants to do after winning. She
then regaled media-men with stanzas from Destiny’s Child’s “Stand Up For Love.”

An early favorite, Koreen also bagged the ? award.
Aside from the beautifully crafted trophy, she took home a prize package of P1million
in cash and products; and the honor to represent the country in the forthcoming
Miss Inter-Continental search in Cairo, Egypt.

Cebu City’s bet Angeli Dione Gomez won as Mutya ng
Pilipinas Tourism Int’l. The 20-year-old lass from the Queen City of the South
also won the same title won by another Cebuana, Rizzini Alexis Gomez, who
ultimately won the Miss Tourism International last December 2012. Dione is
optimistic she can duplicate Rizzini’s victory, being a Gomez herself! She’ll
fly to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia towards the end of the year to compete.

The members of Mutya royal court are 1^st
runner-up Kristian Aubrey Nolasco (Caloocan City), the other NCR delegate; and
2^nd runner-up Maureen Anne Montagne (from the overseas Filipino
community in Arizona, USA). Asdis Liza Karldottir, the delegate from Iceland,
was proclaimed Mutya ng Overseas Filipino Communities.  

The competition opened with dancers from PowerDance
and the Mabalacat City Center for the Arts donning Elvis Presley inspired-costumes,
signifying the era when the Mutya pageant was born in the late 60s, as the
contestants introduced themselves in bright-colored and stylized creations from
31 Filipino fashion designers. Koreen’s metallic 60s inspired mini-dress won
for designer June Lee the Best in Fashion Design award earlier in the evening.

The pre-taped segment of the swimsuit competition
held at the Sheridan Spa Resort in Puerto Princesa, Palawan served as the
backdrop in the swimwear parade. In identical black-and-white bikinis by Renee
Salud, the girls gamely posed and strutted against the beauty and splendor of Palawan’s
environmental treasure – the Underground River. Laguna’s muse Vina Openiano was
declared Best in Swimsuit while Cabuyao City’s entrant Hazel Corral was
adjudged Best in Evening Gown.

The Mutya ng Pilipinas organization promotes ‘beauty
tourism’ within the greater Asia Pacific with the direct participation of the
overseas Filipino communities; this being a distinct component of the national
pageant for years now. The organization is motivated and inspired by its
guiding thrust to assist in promoting tourism, social responsibility, fashion,
and beauty pageantry.

The members of the panel of judges included Sen.
Chiz Escudero, singer-actress Heart Evangelista, fashion designer Christian Espiritu,
and Ting-ting Cojuangco as chairperson.

Koreen was crowned by reigning Mutya ng Pilipinas
Int’l Camille Guevarra and Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares at the culmination of the
pageant’s rites. Hosted by Chris Tiu, with three past Mutya queens as
anchorwomen: Kirby Basken, Kristine Zaballero and Patricia Fernandez, the
4-hour-long extravaganza was beamed from the NBC Tent at the Bonifacio Global
City, on Sunday, July 28^th, to a nationwide audience via GMA’s
Rainbow network.

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Dell's 'Powering the Possible' Program

Earmarking more support to empower street children

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

Dell  announced recently  its additional support  to the advocacy of Childhope Asia Philippines, Inc. (CHAP) in helping close the learning gap among underserved children. CHAP  received an additional P19K from Dell’s Powering the Possible grant during the company’s blocked screening of the movie “Wolverine” at Greenbelt 1 cinema in Ayala Center Makati. Said additional funding will help facilitate CHAP’s aim to empower  over 600 misplaced streetchildren through education and computer literacy.

“Our initiatives to empower youth by closing the technology gap and providing training in information and communications technology skills are focused on improving, enhancing and jump-starting learning for life. By putting technology to work for underserved communities, we aim to help young people discover new possibilities, change their lives, and unleash their true potential,” declared Richard Teo, president of Dell Int’l Services – Philippines

“We are very pleased to be able to extend funding support for Child Hope Asia’s street children outreach program. Child Hope Asia has been a strategic partner of Dell under the Powering The Possible program. Last year, Dell worked with Child Hope Asia to provide a computer lab with state-of-the-art technology as well as equipping mobile vans with mobile laptops so that the street children of Manila can have access to these learning tools. Our employees have been active in providing skills training in computers as well as other creative skills like singing & dancing and the arts. The additional funding support is intended to enable further outreach so that the deployed technology can be fully utilized by these misplaced youth,” Teo intoned.

CHAP works with the underprivileged street children and out-of-school youth in Metro Manila to give them equal opportunities for learning through several programs, including basic literacy and numeracy, alternative learning system basic education, computer literacy, as well as life skills, values and primary health education. To facilitate its outreach and protection/education program, the charity is aided by mobile education vans with street educators that are deployed to 18 locations daily where street children are commonly found—in parks or on the sidewalks of urban centers around Metro Manila—to teach children there.

The core of this partnership is to provide the underserved youth and educators with access to technology and serve as a catalyst for lifelong learning and career readiness. Dell technology is used to equip the mobile education vans with laptops and the required education software to accomplish the work of accredited programs administered by CHAP, benefiting an estimated 500 misplaced children.

"The Childhope Board of Directors, staff, and the many street children we assist, are truly and deeply grateful for the commitment and substantial financial support given by Dell to our street children's education; which will have a life-long impact on their development and well-being as well.as towards being useful contributors to society as a whole. May Dell continue in all its outreach endeavors," intimated Teresita Silva, president & managing director of Chilhope Asia Inc.

In addition, the grant will greatly help in the maintenance of the set-up computer lab with Dell desktops that has started providing digital learning and basic computer literacy classes to 120 selected street children brought to the charity’s premises and to the areas in Metro Manila where CHAP operates.

“We are grateful for Dell’s support in our efforts to defend the rights of street children by providing them with learning opportunities and knowledge that can help protect them from the vulnerabilities of life on the street. The education and skills they acquire will also go a long way in preparing them for a future as productive members of the community” Silva continued.

The computers at the center were also installed with a database program that has been used by the 25 street educators for recording and tracking the progress of the street children under the program. This will greatly help in monitoring the welfare of the children and in evaluating the impact of the program to the beneficiaries.

Providing the world’s youth with access to technology is something that is close to  Dell’s corporate value. The company’s ‘Powering the Possible’ program is designed to change the way youth learn and access information today. Dell’s partnership with Childhope Asia is in giving the latter the power to provide the technology, the know-how and the resources in helping the next generation grow and thrive in their communities.“This is the first time that different groups of people – from our sales as well as BPO offices – are together in one place. Our customers are also now part of our outreach endeavors. Technology is now accessible to the underprivileged and in the hands of streetchildren. A number of Dell employees share their time too in teaching computer literacy to the kids,” Teo said at the close of the short program prior to the movie screening.

Since 1989, Childhope Asia Philippines has been at the forefront of advocating the cause of street children in the Philippines and in Asia. It reaches out to about 1,200 street children every year and works to uplift street children from the hazards of working and living on the streets and aims to realize a better future for them by providing learning opportunities outside the confines of a formal school set-up. Visit www.childhope.org.ph to learn more about the organization.

Dell’s ‘Powering the Possible’ program focuses on four areas of giving that includes learning, children’s cancer care, disaster relief and social entrepreneurship.  The ‘Powering the Possible’ project is designed to give others the power to do more through a combination of Dell technology & solutions, resources, as well as know-how. This initiative in support of  learning, empowers the youth by closing the technology gap through provisions in training, in information & communications technology skills – all focused on improving, enhancing and jump-starting learning for life.

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. Powering the Possible is Dell’s commitment to put technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good for people and the planet. Dell works with nonprofits to address pressing social issues by donating a combination of Dell technologies and solutions, funding, expertise and volunteer support. In 2011, Dell gave more than $44 million, and Dell team members volunteered more than 418,000 hours in their communities. Learn more at www.dell.com/communities. 

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Word 2007 Error: There is a problem sending command to the program

I've wasted half a day in my office just to fix this thing.  My Word went nuts when I needed it the most.  Every time I double-clicked a Word file, the circle was spinning for way too long and at the end, I got "there is a problem sending command to the program".

I closed the Word and tried to open a file by right-clicking it and choose a default program.
Nothing

I closed it again and tried

• Start > Run > winword.exe /r {ENTER}

and...nothing.

I deleted the Word Data Registry Key

• Closed all Office programs
• Clicked Start, click Run, typed regedit, and then clicked OK.
  Locate the following registry subkey, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running: 
• Word 2007:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\DataClick Data, and then click Export on the File menu.
• Name the file Wddata.reg, and then save the file to the desktop.
• Click Delete on the Edit menu, and then click Yes.
• Exit Registry Editor.
• Start Word.

and...nothing started

It was frustrating.  Then I remembered there was something wrong with the printer setting. Could that be the cause? Well, there's nothing wrong with checking, right?

I opened the control panel and clicked "devices and printers" and guess what? the damn thing wouldn't load. That green bar was stuck right there for half an hour. For the love of God. Apparently, my antivirus was messing with it.

I stopped for a while before I killed someone.

I started again by disabling my antivirus.  The "devices and printers" load perfectly. I switched my default printer to a stable local one (sounds like my husband :)) and I double-clicked a word file. And...it ran well.

Alhamdulillah :)


Cheers,
Dya

p.s. actually, the moral of the story was that it was more fulfilling when you could do it yourself without yelling, "where's that freaking IT guy?!"


 image taken from https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTFLpdNEzKrhaorABufCoEDzohpGff0_7dKqH0i3mSippCDUS02

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Have to Be Respected

There was this post about a bazaar in front of my HQ in Jakarta. It featured a picture of open area food court and a comment that those people really did not respect muslims that were currently fasting.  And there was another comment that muslims face enough "tests" everyday and people actually should not add more to it.  I could not help but think that I actually feel underestimated by those comments.

I hide ice creams and chips from my daughter because toddlers cannot stop eating ice creams and chips without interventions from their parents. I feel like being compared to little kids that cannot control themselves yet.  I mean, really, "open area food court" is a test for muslims? Good God, it's not even a mild test especially compared to what our brothers and sisters are going through in Palestine, or in earthquake areas, or in America where muslims community is a minority and Islam is a joke.

"You have to respect fasting muslims," those people said.
Why can't we say, "we need to respect those who aren't fasting"? I mean, this country is based on Ketuhanan yang Maha Esa. Even though perhaps we would love to be in an Islam-based country, the fact is we live in Indonesia, which is not an Islam-based country. So, why don't we tolerate each other and stop being pissed at everything? if you don't want to see dangdut singers shake their hips,then turn on the Animal Planet, watch the life of a penguin. No muslim watches the show, then the production will be stopped eventually. If you don't want to waste your time listening to trash musics, then plug your ear with Yaasin. No muslim listens to the music=the artists will crumble at the end. Do not like new novels and movies filled with sex scenes? then don't read or watch, toh Al-Quran,  is clearly a better choice for your soul, right?


Respect is something we earned.
The inclination to respect someone is inside everybody. It is theirs to give, not yours to ask.



Cheers,
Dya

the image was taken from http://www.pacificoneword.org/content/medium/1291936832_jennyimmel_ridiculous_web.jpg

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Please Be Kind With Your Campaign

Hi,

First of all, I want to clarify that I am not against breastfeeding or campaigns about breastfeeding. Breast milk IS the best normal food for all healthy babies and mother and campaigning for it is noble.  So, what is my problem?

Well, we must admit that some women just cannot breastfeed because of very acceptable medical reasons like HIV, sepsis, cancer, hepatitis, and seizures. And guess what? They feel terribly guilty for not being able to breastfeed.  At some point, they will come to terms with their condition, but after reading a very enthusiastic campaign like "every woman must breastfeed", "if you are not breastfeeding, then you are giving a very bad start for your baby", "no excuses not to breastfeed", or explain in a very very long prose that formula is harmful and mothers who do not breastfeed are literally poisoning their babies, they are devastated and depressed.  It gets worse when an old lady or other women asked, "do you breastfeed?" and the answer was no and they looked at you as if you were unworthy as a mother.

People can say, "you shouldn't feel guilty if you are sick." True.
But you know what? it's the most useless advice someone could give.

So, if you are currently campaigning for breast milk, please check your words again and adjust them slightly...

"Breast milk is the best foods for healthy babies and mommies...for those moms with medical conditions, formula can be a better choice."

Easy, right?

There is this website on breastfeeding called BellyBelly that is both friendly and informative and I guess it sets a good example on breastfeeding campaign.

Please, be kind with your campaigns because not all moms are as lucky as you.


Cheers,
Dya


image taken from http://www.mamapop.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Breastfeeding_Mother-590x442.jpg

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Mutya ng Pilipinas 2013

Who will
win the 2013 crowns?

By Nico
Erle Ciriaco

A girl
for each day of the month – that’s the number of aspirants in this year’s Mutya
ng Pilipinas quest. The 31 hopefuls paraded before media-men during the Press
Presentation held at the H2O Hotel, along historic Manila Bay.

Four
candidates from North America (Canada and the states of California, Arizona,
and Maryland) together with representatives from Germany, Iceland and
Scandinavia make up the list of delegates from the Filipino communities abroad.
Two comes from the National Capital Region (QC and Caloocan) while the rest
hails from outside Metro Manila.

“We
handpicked contestants from all over the Philippines through our regional
screenings in Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, and Pampanga.
It is Mutya ng Pilipinas’ 45^th year and we continue searching for
that inspiration that would spread goodwill for the country,” enthused Jacqueline
Tan, president of Mutya ng Pilipinas Inc.

Sixteen
provinces are represented from those that were handpicked by the committee:
Pangasinan, Palawan, Cavite, Laguna, Tarlac (Gerona), Negros Occidental
(Bacolod), Oriental Negros (Dumaguete), Batangas (Lipa), Laguna (Sta.
Cruz/Cabuyao/Sta. Rosa), Pampanga (Bacolor/Mabalacat/Angeles), Cebu
(Lapu-Lapu/Cebu City), Lanao del Norte (Iligan), Rizal (Cainta), and Davao
Oriental (Davao City).   

“We are
searching for four lucky ladies who will represent our campaign platform of
promoting beauty and tourism. It’s a tradition filled with vibrancy since it began
in 1968. This is the third year that we are holding the pageant as the new
holders to the franchise. The former rights owner wanted to transfer the
franchise to another hotelier; being hoteliers themselves running Sulo Hotel.
And it was also because the Sheridan Group of Companies and Mutya ng Pilipinas
share the same advocacy on tourism,” intoned Tan.

At the
close of the midday presentation, Pangasinan entrant Zandra Flores was
proclaimed Press Favorite, after being voted by members of print &
broadcast media. Flores was also named as Miss Photogenic. Prior to joining the
Mutya search, Zandra was part of the Bb. Pilipinas 2013 ‘Gold’ batch, the
oldest country-wide national pageant for Filipino women celebrating their 50^th
anniversary this year.

“It’s
such an honor for H2O to be part of this prestigious event as well as venue
partner for such a worthy endeavor as Mutya ng Pilipinas,” remarked Van Kam
Weng, general manager of H2O Hotel & Manila Ocean Park.

“Five
years ago, we opened the Manila Ocean Park and become part of our country’s
tourism initiatives. We are open the whole year round so visitors can see the
beauty of the Philippine underwater scene. We have 14,000 sea creatures with
300 of them indigenous to the Philippines and Asia. H2O, on the other hand, has
rooms with panoramic views of Manila Bay coupled with well-appointed banquet
facilities. Our facilities and the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant showcase the true
beauty of the Philippines to the whole world,” he added.

The
girls were then flown to Sheridan Spa Resort in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan
for the Photo Contest and Swimwear Competition slated July 13th.

“Aside
from the seven overseas hopefuls who were handpicked to represent their
respective communities, we went around the archipelago to find this year’s
batch. You can say we exerted much effort to look for them. We’ve been on this
since January until a fortnight before the Press Presentation. We chose this
batch according to beauty of face & figure, their intellect, and each one
underwent character investigation. The winners will compete in the Miss
Asia-Pacific Quest, the Miss Inter-Continental in Europe, the Miss Tourism
International in Malaysia and the Queen of the Year in China,” revealed pageant
organizer Renee Salud.

Now on
its 45^th year, the Mutya ng Pilipinas beauty pageant not only aims
to discover world-class beauty queens, but also to promote Philippine tourism
as well. “I want Mutya ng Pilipinas to become the No. 1 pageant again. Our
winners are women of beauty inside and out. And for her to be called such, she
must have a working knowledge on Philippine tourism,” Jacqui Tan said in
closing.

The
coronation night is slated on July 26, 7 pm at the NBC Tent inside the
sprawling Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The pageant finals will be beamed to
a nationwide audience through GMA-7’s Kapuso
network. Check your local TV guide for time & date of airing.

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...

Cheers,
Dya

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Mr. Jones

Breakfast
bounty

By Demi
Braque

Inspired
by the 1960s, the Mr. Jones diner in Ayala Center Makati is a new up-market and
contemporary food-stop conveniently located at the ground floor of Greenbelt 5
mall. It is a destination restaurant offering a full array of authentic
American cuisine.

Savor
their fish & bacon dish, Eggs “Benny” 2 Ways; that’s Canadian-style double
smoked bacon and Norwegian smoked salmon with two poached eggs, wilted spinach,
hollandaise sauce, and roasted rosemary breakfast potatoes on top of Texas
toast slices. This goes well with their “Big Boy” Fried Chicken & Waffles,
a hefty plate of fowl served with whipped butter, maple syrup and chicken stock
gravy. Yummy!

Designed
by acclaimed restaurant architect, EC Studio, the interior features sea-foam
diner seats that comfortably seats forty covers (with another forty al-fresco
seats outside), fire engine red sharkskin booths and ‘60s chic. Mr. Jones transports
you back to the time of jukeboxes, roller-skaters and really good milkshakes.

Not to
miss is their Challah French Toast, that’s two pieces of toasted bread with
nutella & raspberry preserves and caramelized bananas topped with crispy
bacon, powdered sugar and whipped cream that’s served with maple syrup and
whipped butter. And for something with a lot of bite and crunch, sample their
Super Texas Taco, an entrée with a choice of either grilled Gaucho beef tenderloin
or grilled white fish served with tequila lime sauce. This huge tortilla is
served with sour cream, salsa, and shredded cheddar cheese!

Mr.
Jones is another innovative concept by Raintree Restaurants along with its sister
bistros around the metropolis: Museum Café, Kabila, Chelsea, MoMo Café, Stella,
Rocket Room, Premiere, Saboten, and Terraz. Since 2009, Mr. Jones has been
bringing the ‘60s American flavors with its blue plates, milkshakes and
burgers.

“We
retained our original menu and added a few new items. It’s an all-day access to
breakfast food for residents of condominiums in and around the Ayala Center
area. This is the only place where you’ll find the originally concocted Louie’s
dressing that’s a mixture of Worcestershire sauce, horseradish, mayonnaise and
catsup. We have another Mr. Jones outlet in Bonifacio High Street. Mr. Jones
will be turning four in November,” shared chef de partie Neil Manzon.

Some
food items, like the Bacon & Egg plate, are not in the menu but are
nevertheless ordered regularly. One of their new items is the Cold Lump Crab
& Shrimp Salad that uses Louie’s dressing; it is a plate of iceberg disc
with cherry tomatoes topped with caviar and fresh lemons. And for sweet
endings, try their Maple Bacon Sundae, a delectable dessert of waffle croutons
and two scoops of mantecado ice cream, smothered with maple caramel syrup and
whipped cream, and topped with toasted almonds, cherries and bacon bits! It’s a
mélange of complementary flavors & tastes.

This
swinging and swanky all-day breakfast hub is open from 8 in the morning ‘til 11
in the evening. For more information, simply call 501-3111 and/or visit their
social network page at www.facebook.com/raintreemrjones.
You may also check out their Web site, www.raintreerestaurants.com.  

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