...the Gensan Boys at Ellen de Generes Show

Aldrich Talonding and James Bucong guest on Ellen DeGeneres show

 

By Karen Valeza

Yahoo Southeast Asia Newsroom

12 September 2013

Reuters/REUTERS - Ellen DeGeneres smiles as she talks to a reporter while arriving for the Mark Twain Prize ceremony in Washington, in this file photo from October 22, 2012. DeGeneres has been chosen to host …more the annual Oscars telecast in March, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/Files

 

 

Remember Aldrich Lloyd Talonding, the YouTube sensation from General Santos City who caught Ellen Degeneres' attention? Well, the talented boy has finally graced Ellen's top rating show!

Along with his cousin, James Walter Bucong, Aldrich talked about how his life changed after their YouTube video became viral.

"People started recognizing us along the streets or in the malls. They even recognize us in the restrooms. That's weird," Aldrich said.

The short interview was followed by a heartfelt performance which rightfully deserved a standing ovation from the crowd. Luther Vandross' song "Dance with My Father" is more meaningful for the fourteen year-old after his father died in June due to non-hodgkin's lymphoma.

 

 

Video from Facebook

Ellen gave Aldrich a set of music goodies - a guitar, an amplifier, keyboard and more, not to mention a check worth $10,000!

According to a report from Associated Press, Aldrich is "a son of Christian ministers and members of the B'laan indigenous group."

Other Pinoy artists who have graced "Ellen" are Charice, Rhap Salazar and Zendee Rose Tenerefe.

 

 

...the Dragon fireworks

Dragon Fireworks, representing Philippines, wins pyrotechnics gold in Germany    


By: Tricia Aquino, InterAksyon.com
September 11, 2013

 

 

 

 

The Philippine contingent to the Pyronale fireworks championship in Berlin, Germany, bagged the gold Saturday, besting five other competitors from Europe.

Dragon Fireworks put on a 15-minute pyrotechnics display titled, "Here comes the dragon", set to the tune of both local and foreign music such as: "Piliin Mo Ang Pilipinas" by Angeline Quinto, "Tinikling", "Tanging Yaman" by Carol Banawa, "Vivaldi vs. Vertigo" by David Garrett, "Business Part 1" by Craig Armstrong, "Cerberus" by Audiomachine, and "For The Win" by Two Steps From Hell.




The company, described by Pyronale as the largest fireworks manufacturer in the Philippines, began "as a consumer fireworks manufacturer making products like rockets or fountains before turning to professional display shells and special effects."

Spain was awarded the silver prize, while Finland got the bronze. Croatia, Poland, and Greece also competed.

...the most exciting foods

Zagat includes Pinoy food in 'most exciting' list

 

ABS-CBNnews.com

09/12/2013

Sizzling sisig from the New York restaurant Pig and Khao. Photo from the restaurant's Facebook page

MANILA -- Foreign interest in Filipino cuisine increase continues to rise.

After the US lifestyle magazine Details declared Filipino cuisine the “next great Asian food trend” in its September issue, the influential restaurant guide Zagat included Pinoy food in its list of the 10 “most exciting emerging cuisines” in the United States.

In an article posted on Zagat website on Monday, writer Jenny Miller noted that cuisines that made the list “are just beginning to show their faces stateside” but “have all the markers of a craze in the making.”

“In some cases, one or two restaurants are leading the pack, with others sure to follow. In other instances, several factors seem to be converging, hinting at a big-time trend about to bust wide open,” Miller wrote.

Miller noted that Filipino cuisine, which she described as “previously underrepresented,” has enjoyed “a big few years” now, citing the participation of three chefs who are part Filipino in the popular reality show “Top Chef” – Leah Cohen, “All Star” contestant Dale Talde and Season 9 winner Paul Qui.

Cohen is among the brains behind the New York restaurant Pig and Khao, which was also cited in the Details article and favorably reviewed by the New York Times. The restaurant is known for its quail adobo and sizzling sisig.

It has a 4-star rating on Zagat, which described the menu as “incorporating Thai and Filipino flavors in its midpriced dishes designed for sharing.”

Zagat’s Miller reported that Talde has indicated that he would like to open an “outright Filipino eatery,” while Qui included Filipino touches on his menu for his eponymous Texas eatery, described in Zagat as a “highly anticipated East Austin fusion restaurant”

Miller also mentioned the successful Maharlike and Jeepney restaurants in New York, which started as a pop a few years ago; another pop-up Milkfish in New Orleans, which is already raising funds for a proper restaurant; the recently opened Kainbigan in Oakland, California; and the Seattle food truck Lumpia World.

“‘Beautiful, tasty,” porkalicious Filipino classics ‘with modern flair’ plus ‘strong’ cocktails add up to a ‘hopping’ scene at this ‘somewhat upscale’ East Village storefront; factor in ‘enthusiastic’ service and low prices, and ‘you can’t go wrong,’” Zagat raved about Maharlika, which got a 4.2-star rating.

On Jeepney, Zagat, which gave it a 3.9 stars, wrote: “The Maharlika team strikes again with this inexpensive Filipino gastropub in the East Village, serving up hearty dishes meant for sharing; named after highly decorated taxis from the WWII era, the colorfully designed space features tin accents, large pin-up photos on the walls and lively murals.”

Zagat, meanwhile, recommended Kainbigan for “affordable Filipino breakfast dishes, noodle bowls and rice plates along with a few American sandwiches and plates.”

Miller also revealed that the popular local chain Max’s will soon open a branch in Las Vegas this fall.

The other foods that made Zagat’s list of most exciting emerging cuisines in the United States were: Northern Thai, Macanese, Icelandic, Laotian, Yunnan (Chinese), Hawaiian, Israeli, New Zealand and what it calls “Gonzo fusion.”

 

...the international ballet winners

Young Pinoys shine in int'l ballet tilt

GMA News

September 12, 2013

 

 

Three young pairs of Filipino dancers emerged victorious in an international ballet competition held in Hong Kong last month.

The six Filipinos bested at least 200 participants from other countries in the Pas de Deux division of the 2013 Asian Grand Prix International Ballet Competition (AGPIC) held last August 13 to 18.

A statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the Filipinos won gold and silver medals.

The Asian Grand Prix website listed the winners as:

• Jasmine Pia Dames and Rudolph Capongcol - Gold

 

• Dawna Reign Mangahas and Elpidio Magat, Jr.; Joan Emery Sia and Alfren Salgado – Tie, Silver

In the senior division, Capongcol also received a silver medal while his partner, Dames, came in at fifth place. On the other hand, Mangahas received bronze while Magat entered at seventh place. Jessica Pearl Dames placed at six and Arnulfo Andrade Jr. eighth.

Dames and Capongcol were recipients of the Sansha Excellency Award, while Mangahas, Magat, and Andrade received the So Danca Prize for the Senior and Male Dancer category respectively.

Winners in the Junior division included:

• Lormaigne Hannelore Bockmuhl – Junior A, Bronze; recipient of So Danca Prize for Junior Division
• Pia Angela P. Custodio – Junior A, Fifth place
• Raye Vince Pelegrin – Junior A, Sixth place; recipient of Summer Intensive Program scholarship for the Junior A Division
• Rissa May Camaclang – Junior B, Silver
• Jessa Balote – Junior B, Fifth place
• Julio Laforteza – Junior C; Fifth place

Some of the Philippine schools represented in the event were Acts School for the Performing Arts, Ballet Manila, and Steps Dance Studio/Sofia Zobel Elizade.

Capongcol and Sia had also participated in last year's AGPIC where they were also victorious.

Held at the Y-Theatre, Youth Square in Hong Kong, AGPIC was established in 2011 and is open to young ballet dancers from all over the world.

Carlo Pacis, a former member of Ballet Philippines, is one of the former principal dancers of the Hong Kong Ballet who organized the competition. — Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News

 

 

...the new bird specie

New ‘Ventriloquist’ Bird Species Discovered In Philippines

Featured Research
September 11, 2013

Researchers have discovered a new ground-dwelling forest bird species that lives on Luzon Island of the Philippine archipelago.

 

Asian Scientist (Sep. 11, 2013) – Researchers have discovered a new ground-dwelling forest bird species that lives on Luzon Island of the Philippine archipelago.

The new species, dubbed the Sierra Madre Ground-Warbler, is described in a paper published in The Condor, a scientific journal of the Cooper Ornithological Society.

“The ground-warblers are very unique birds,” said Pete Hosner, who co-authored the study.  

“They’re only known from the northern Philippines, and they have no close relatives. As the name suggests, they’re ground-walking songbirds—rotund, with strong legs and weak wings—and it appears that they can barely fly.”  

“They tend to inhabit dense forest understory, where they feed on insects. Their song is extremely high in pitch, and ventriloquial—it’s almost impossible to locate the source of the sound in the forest—they always sound like they are far away, even when they are almost at your feet.”

Hosner said the new species of ground-warbler looks similar to the other two species of ground-warblers in the Philippines, so it wasn’t recognized as an independent species at first.

“The three species of ground-warblers now recognized are essentially identical in size, shape and juvenile plumage coloration held in their first year of life, but they differ from one another in adult plumage coloration,” he said.

According to Hosner, the reason that this new species remained undescribed for so long was that the adult plumage of the very first ground-warbler to be described was unknown.

That species, Cordilleran Ground-Warbler, was documented only from a single juvenile until our recent fieldwork.

As a result, the ‘discovery moment’ was when the researchers saw an adult individual of the known species.

Examination of its DNA was key to differentiating the new ground-warbler once it was spotted in the field.

“When we noted the different plumage coloration between adult birds in the Cordillera and the Sierra Madre in northern Luzon, we sequenced DNA to determine if the plumage differences were individual variation within a species, or if the two plumage forms were also genetically diagnosable,” Hosner said.

Through this analysis, the researchers found that Cordillera and Sierra Madre birds were highly divergent in their DNA, almost as different as the distinctive Bicol Ground-Warbler in southern Luzon.
——
Source: Kansas University.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

 

...the PH strong growth momentum

Philippines only emerging Asian nation with strong growth momentum--OECD

By: Agence France-Presse
September 10, 2013

 

PARIS - The Philippines is the only emerging Asian nation with strong business cycle momentum, although China and Singapore have stabilized, the OECD Development Center said Monday.

Chinese growth was now returning to trend, meriting a "Stay the same" reading for the business cycle, after a slowdown that had weakened momentum across ASEAN nations.

India had a "weak" business cycle reading with growth below trend in latest Asian Business Cycle Indicators report.

Singapore and Malaysia were now rated as stable.

Indonesia and Thailand had weak ratings.

The OECD said "the key imminent downside risk facing Southeast Asia, China and India is the turmoil in the financial market, triggered by the prospects of tapering of quantitative easing (QE) policy in the US.

It noted emerging Asian economies with large current account deficits that are more vulnerable to rapid capital outflows such as India and Indonesia bore the brunt of the financial turmoil.

The OECD warned volatile global oil prices due to tension in the Middle East could also pose a problem if the situation persists.