Divas4Divas: A Dream Concert

Divas4Divas: A Dream Concert

A dream concert and touted to be one of the most impressive and ground-breaking productions in the local concert scene, it took nearly 5 years to plan and now it is finally happening!

The date is DECEMBER 6 and the venue is ARANETA COLISEUM. There the country's top divas: KUH LEDESMA, ZSA ZSA PADILLA, POPS FERNANDEZ, and REGINE VELASQUEZ will be together on the same stage for DIVAS 4 DIVAS, the first time that all four of them will perform in one concert.

A 20th anniversary presentation of the Music Museum, DIVAS 4 DIVAS is bound to make history on the concert stage with the finest talents in the music industry. Music Museum has played a significant part in the careers of all four divas as well as other performers, which was what Kuh and present owner Precy Florentino had envisioned for it. According to Precy this is a production of Music Museum but the concert will be held at the Araneta Coliseum which is "four times bigger than Music Museum, which is just fitting for a show four times grander and four times everything."

All this talent on one stage, along with the fabulous costumes, impressive sets, mood-enhancing lights and incredible production numbers makes Divas 4 Divas a concert you shouldn't miss! Helping the ladies out is LOUIE OCAMPO, their musical director.

After the Big Dome, the show will go on tour in the US in March and May 2009.

Indeed, it will be a long time before an event of this magnitude comes along again!

The Divas

KUH LEDESMA

Kuh started out in the late 70s as the vocalist of Music and Magic, which also included Fe delos Reyes, Angeli Pangilinan, and Jet Montelibano. Even as a solo artist, Kuh continued to shine. In 1981, the Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) named her "Singer of the Year." The following year, she grabbed that honor again and added one more: an "Entertainer of the Year" award from the Aliw Awards Foundation. Her musical specials like "Kuh: By Special Arrangement" (1997) also won notice from the Catholic Mass Media Awards and the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Foundation’s Entertainment Awards. In l999, the National Centennial Commission recognized Kuh’s outstanding efforts and talents by conferring on her the Natatanging Gawad Sentenaryo as the "Most Outstanding Filipino." As an actress, Kuh also made her mark in films like "Oro, Plata, Mata" and in the international production "A Dangerous Life."

Even today, after more than two decades in the music scene, Kuh continues to be a powerhouse in local music and one of the most innovative and trend-setting artists in the business.

www.KuhLedesma.net

ZSA ZSA PADILLA

DIVINE DIVA Zsa Zsa is an actress, TV host, recording artist and concert performer. Like Kuh, she started her career as part of a band – in her case, Hotdog – then later went solo. Some of Zsa Zsa’s biggest hits include "Ikaw Lamang," "Hiram," "Kahit Na," and "Point of No Return."

A truly gifted singer with one of the most beautiful soaring voices in town, Zsa Zsa is also a talented actress with several acting awards to her credit. These include a "Best Supporting Actress" trophy for "Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin" (1994), and Best Actress trophies from the Gawad Urian, Film Academy of the Philippines and the STAR Awards for Movies for her role in Batang PX (1998). Her most recent acting triumph was in 2006's Ako Legal Wife. Also renowned for her beauty, Zsa Zsa has been named to a list of the 100 Most Beautiful Filipinas.

www.ZsaZsaPadilla.com

POPS FERNANDEZ

Pops started performing professionally at age 16, people practically grew up with her and saw her, and her talent, blossom into the beautiful, poised, and confident concert performer and recording star that she is today. In 1999, she was chosen as "Best Female Musical Variety Show Host" in the KBP Golden Dove Awards. She has done 15 albums, which have received Gold and Platinum recognition. Baring a talent for reinventing herself, Pops even launched her own clothing line called PIPAY. Pops has ventured into the movies as well. Musically, she continues to dazzle audiences here and all over the world with her talent, making her truly the country's undisputed CONCERT QUEEN.

REGINE VELASQUEZ

ASIA'S SONGBIRD Regine was the first Filipino to stage a solo concert at the Main Hall of Carnegie Hall, as part of Carnegie Hall’s centennial year concert series. Her album "Listen Without Prejudice" achieved platinum certification in several countries. In 2000, she performed the country’s millennial theme, televised in 55 broadcast networks throughout the world. Regine has collaborated with various international artists, including Paul Anka, Michel Legrand, Mandy Moore, David Pomeranz, and Bryan McKnight.

Regine has also proven that she is a very talented actress when she received a "Best Actress" award for her portrayal of a mentally challenged woman in an episode of "Maalaala Mo Kaya." She also formed IndiMusic (iMusic), a record label in partnership with the late Bella Tan’s Universal Records.

Search: Jury convicts mom of lesser charges in online hoax

This news item is very controversial in the US. Read on to know the real score behind the issue. Article lifted from the Yahoo News website

Jury convicts mom of lesser charges in online hoax

By GREG RISLING,Associated Press Writer AP - Friday, November 28

LOS ANGELES - A Missouri mother on trial in a landmark cyberbullying case was convicted Wednesday of only three minor offenses for her role in a mean-spirited Internet hoax that apparently drove a 13-year-old girl to suicide. The federal jury could not reach a verdict on the main charge against 49-year-old Lori Drew _ conspiracy _ and rejected three other felony counts of accessing computers without authorization to inflict emotional harm.

Instead, the panel found Drew guilty of three misdemeanor offenses of accessing computers without authorization. Each count is punishable by up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Drew could have gotten 20 years if convicted of the four original charges.

U.S. District Judge George Wu declared a mistrial on the conspiracy count. There was no immediate word on whether prosecutors would retry her.

"I don't have any satisfaction in the jury's decision," said Drew's lawyer, Dean Steward. "I don't think these charges should have ever been brought."

Tina Meier, the mother of the dead girl, said Drew deserves the maximum of three years behind bars.

"For me it's never been about vengeance," she said. "This is about justice."

Prosecutors said Drew and two others created a fictitious 16-year-old boy on MySpace and sent flirtatious messages from him to teenage neighbor Megan Meier. The "boy" then dumped Megan in 2006, saying, "The world would be a better place without you." Megan promptly hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet.

Prosecutors said Drew wanted to humiliate Megan for saying mean things about Drew's teenage daughter. They said Drew knew Megan suffered from depression and was emotionally fragile.

"Lori Drew decided to humiliate a child," U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien, chief federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, told the jury during closing arguments. "The only way she could harm this pretty little girl was with a computer. She chose to use a computer to hurt a little girl, and for four weeks she enjoyed it."

O'Brien, who pronounced the case the nation's first cyberbullying trial, said the jury's decision sent a worthy message: "If you have children who are on the Internet and you are not watching what they are doing, you better be."

Most members of the six-man, six-woman jury left court without speaking to reporters. One juror, who identified himself by his first name only, Marcilo, indicated jurors were not convinced Drew's actions involved the intent alleged by prosecutors.

"Some of the jurors just felt strongly that it wasn't tortious and everybody needed to stay with their feeling. That was really the balancing point," he said.

The case hinged on an unprecedented _ and, some legal experts say, highly questionable _ application of computer-fraud law.

Drew was not directly charged with causing Megan's death. Instead, prosecutors indicted her under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which in the past has been used in hacking and trademark theft cases.

Among other things, Drew was charged with conspiring to violate the fine print in MySpace's terms-of-service agreement, which prohibits the use of phony names and harassment of other MySpace members.

"This was a very aggressive, if not misguided, theory," said Matt Levine, a New York-based defense attorney and former federal prosecutor. "Unfortunately, there's not a law that covers every bad thing in the world. It's a bad idea to use laws that have very different purpose."

Drew's lawyer, Steward, contended his client had little to do with the content of the messages and was not at home when the final one was sent. Steward also argued that nobody reads the fine print on service agreements.

Prosecutors said Drew, her then-13-year-old daughter Sarah and Drew's 18-year-old business assistant Ashley Grills set up the phony MySpace profile for a boy named "Josh Evans," posting a photo of a bare-chested boy with tousled brown hair. "Josh" then told Megan she was "sexi" and assured her, "i love you so much."

Grills allegedly sent the final, insulting message to Megan before she killed herself in the St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, Mo.

Missouri authorities said there was no state law under which Drew could be charged. But federal prosecutors in California claimed jurisdiction because MySpace is based in Beverly Hills.

Sarah Drew testified she never saw her mother use the MySpace account. But Grills, testifying under immunity from prosecution, said she saw Drew type at least one message under the name Josh Evans.

After the suicide, Missouri passed a law against cyber-harassment. Similar federal legislation has been proposed on Capitol Hill.

The trial's outcome was a victory for prosecutors despite the lack of a felony conviction, said Nick Akerman, a New York lawyer who specializes in cases involving the federal computer act.

"What you learned is that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is an extremely important tool in the federal arsenal against computer crime," he said.

MySpace said in a statement that it "respects the jury's decision and will continue to work with industry experts to raise awareness of cyberbullying and the harm it can potentially cause."

Thanksgiving in The Time of Crisis

Today, we are celebrating Thanksgiving. I know we are not in America and Thanksgiving is an all American tradition, but having worked in American companies for 4 years, I have somehow imbued that tradition. I remember celebrating Thanksgiving in the office complete with the usual stuff: butterball turkeys for our meals complete with stuffings, and usually it's not a busy day since it is a holiday in the US. There was also one time that we were also on holiday (but we were still paid hehehe). This year, Thanksgiving takes on a new meaning, since the US (and the rest of the world, including The Philippines) is experiencing a major financial crisis. I still think that even during these trying times, we still something to be thankful for. First, we should be thankful for the day to day blessings that God is giving us, and that in itself is something that we should be thankful for. I am also celebrating Thanksgiving in my own way because I also have alot to be thankful for, like meeting new friends this year and for the experiences that tested my strength as a person, and how I was able to overcome these experiences and the lessons I got along the way. I am also thankful because I am embarking on something new and that is really a great Christmas gift that I have received. I don't wanna go into details for now but this is something I am so thankful for, and finally I got it. I would like to greet everybody a Happy Thanksgiving!

I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love

I am still in Low Key mode these days. I believe that is one of Regine's best and most intimate album to date, simply because most of the songs are sang by her in a very mellow, low key way. One of my favorite tracks in the album is I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love, a very melancholic song about saying goodbye to someone you love, while you still feel the same for that person. That song kind of explains the state of mind I have at the moment. No, it's not like I am breaking up with someone, but it's just so hard to explain why I want to leave while I'm in love. What I can say for now is that while I still believe that while I know I'm still enjoying, I wanna take a French leave before I regret why I plunged into something in the first place. I am not doing a Morse code or something, but I just apply the meaning of the song to what I am going through right now. I particularly like the part of the song that says: If you wake and find me gone, oh baby carry on, you see I need my fantasy. I still believe it's best to leave while I'm in love. That struck a chord to me, and that exactly explains the kind of feeling and state of mind I have at present. Well, I guess it's safe to say that it was good while it lasted. I had fun, I had a great time, but isn't it that time flies when you're having fun? And, I just suddenly had a wake up call one morning. Alot of realizations came, alot of self checking happened. I was still convincing myself that I wanna stay and make the most out of it, but what about my needs? What about my fantasies? My dreams? I have dreams of my own, and I have to work on those dreams alone to make them come true. Well I guess, all good things must come to an end, albeit temporarily. That's before before all else fails, I still believe it's best to leave while I'm in love.

Presenting: Low Key by Asia's Songbird

After almost 3 years of not doing any studio album, my Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez is still out to prove that she's still the voice to beat. Her new album Low Key is her first in more than 2 years and her first album under her new label Universal Records. Her new CD contains 18 tracks of smooth, mellow, easy listening classics. Regine doing mellow songs? Yes folks! She is restraining her trademark belting prowess a bit to focus on songs with very soft and mellow arrangements. The carrier track is entitled Tell Me That You Love Me. It also contains a duet with famed American songwriter Jim Brickman as well. I am also excited because she shot her new music video for the carrier track with no less than one of my favorite Brapanese models (guess who, so as not to spoil the surprise hehehe =p)as her leading man. Her new CD will be out tomorrow November 14 and it also comes with a limited edition poster and a Minus One CD of all the songs in her Low Key album. Please buy the original thing, guys! Please support the Songbird's new CD Low Key! Special thanks to Lester of reginemultimedia.com for the cover photo of the CD.

Jennifer Aniston snaps back at Angelina Jolie

Hhmm, do i smell a catfight brewing in Hollywood? America's sweetheart Jennifer Aniston apparently made "parinig" to Angelina Jolie about Angie's comment in an interview back in 2007 about how her relationship with Brad started. This interview is on the December issue of Vogue Magazine (US) out in newsstands next week. Read on! Article lifted from Yahoo.com's entertainment section

Aniston: Jolie was out of line about Pitt comments

NEW YORK - Jennifer Aniston says Angelina Jolie was out of line when she spilled details about her relationship with Brad Pitt while they were filming "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." In an interview in the December issue of Vogue, Aniston talks about the magazine's 2007 profile of Jolie, who talked about growing chummy with Pitt -- then married to Aniston -- while shooting the action film in 2004.

"There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening," Aniston says. "I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss. That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool."

Jolie recently told The New York Times that she and Pitt fell in love on the "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" set.

Pitt and Aniston, who were married in July 2000, announced their separation in January 2005. In the months that followed, Pitt was seen in public with Jolie. Pitt and Aniston divorced in October.

In May 2006, Jolie gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt. The couple now have six children, including 4-month-old twins who were born in July.

Aniston tells Vogue that she and Pitt are on good terms.

"We have exchanged a few very kind hellos and wishing you wells and sending you love and congratulations on your babies," she says. "I have nothing but absolute admiration for him, and ... I'm proud of him! I think he's really done some amazing things!"

Asked about her breakup, the 39-year-old actress says: "Well, it never was that bad. I mean, look, it's not like divorce is something that you go, 'Oooh, I can't wait to get divorced!' ... But I've got to tell you, it's so vague at this point, it's so faraway in my mind, I can't even remember the darkness. I mean, in the end, we really had an amicable split."

Aniston, who stars in the upcoming films "Marley & Me" and "He's Just Not That Into You," also dishes on her post-divorce romances with Vince Vaughn and John Mayer.

"I call Vince my defibrillator," she says of her co-star in 2006's "The Break-Up." "He literally brought me back to life. My first gasp of air was a big laugh! It was great. I love him. ... He was lovely and fun and perfect for the time we had together. And I needed that. And it sort of ran its course."

As for the tabloid fuss over her relationship with Mayer, she says: "Love just shows up and you go, 'Oh, wow, this is going to be a hayride and a half.'"

Aniston says she feels protective of the 31-year-old singer, who was criticized for talking to the media about how he ended their romance.

"Trust me, you'll never see that happen again from that man," she says. "And it doesn't take away from the fact that he is a wonderful guy. We care about each other."

Obama is US president

News feed taken from the Philippine Daily Inquirer website:

Obama is US president

Agence France-Presse, INQUIRER.net
First Posted 11:59:00 11/05/2008

WASHINGTON – (UPDATE) Americans elected Democrat Barack Obama as their first black president Tuesday, handing him an historic victory over Republican John McCain, US media projected.

Obama was virtually assured of making history Tuesday by becoming America's first black president, after thwarting Republican John McCain's long-shot comeback hopes in an epochal election.

On a dramatic election night that will reshape US politics, Obama took an insurmountable lead by grabbing key states Ohio and Pennsylvania and needed only certain Democratic pickups to be reach the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.

Tens of millions of people had earlier stood in long lines to cast votes with America locked in a moment of deep crisis, mired in the worst financial meltdown since the 1930s and waging two foreign wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tens of thousands of Obama supporters euphorically waited for the first-term Illinois senator to show up at his massive victory party in downtown Chicago. McCain had so far stayed out of sight in a luxury hotel in his native Arizona.

Democrats were also projected to land major gains in the Senate and House of Representatives and thereby grab a monopoly of power in Washington and usher in a new political era after years of Republican dominance.

Obama had so far amassed 207 electoral votes with McCain on 135, but the mathematics of the US electoral map meant McCain had an impossible task to overhaul his lead.

While television networks stopped short of definitively declaring Obama the victor, many blogs and websites pointed out that the die was already cast.

Two senior McCain aides were quoted by Fox and CNN as saying "there is no path to victory."

Obama gave early notice of the way the night would unfold by capturing the key northeastern state of Pennsylvania -- McCain's best hope of winning a Democratic state and stopping his rival from claiming the White House.

He later added Ohio, the decisive state which swept President George W. Bush to victory in 2004 and another Republican state, Iowa.

No one since John F. Kennedy in 1960 has lost two of the critical triumvirate of Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida and gone on to win the presidency.

Florida was too close to call but Obama was outperforming Democratic nominee John Kerry's figures in the state in 2004.

Obama also captured New Mexico, another Republican seat McCain needed to hold to keep his slim White House dreams alive.

Obama also won Massachusetts, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, Maine, New Hampshire, Washington DC, Delaware, Michigan, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and Minnesota, according to network projections.

McCain captured Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, South Carolina and Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Wyoming, Louisiana, Kansas, Utah and Texas.

Other normally Republican states, North Carolina, and Virginia were too close-to-call, as was Midwestern Indiana, in another positive sign for Obama.

In the Senate, Democrats wrested control of seats in the traditionally Republican state of Virginia, followed by New Hampshire, North Carolina and New Mexico, to take their tally in the chamber to 54 seats.

Eight seats remained up for grabs, as networks announced that Democrats had won 15 seats and Republicans 12.

Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell clung on, meaning that Democrats were highly unlikely to win the 60 seats they need in the 100-seat chamber needed to frustrate Republican obstruction tactics.

Among the Republican casualties was Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina, wife of former Senate majority leader and defeated 1996 presidential nominee Bob Dole.

CNN reported that exit polls showed that the economy was the top priority, being named by 62 percent of voters, compared to Iraq with 10 percent, terrorism on nine percent and healthcare on nine percent.

Obama made a short election day trip to the Midwestern swing state of Indiana, after casting his vote alongside wife Michelle with daughters Sasha and Malia close by.

"I feel great and it was fun, I had a chance to vote with my daughters," he said.

"I noticed that Michelle took a long time though. I had to check to see who she was voting for," the Hawaiian-born US senator from Illinois, 47, said with a laugh.

McCain kept silent as he voted in his home state of Arizona, but later led a boisterous rally in Grand Junction, Colorado, promising supporters: "We're going to win it."

McCain, a former Vietnam War prisoner would be at 72 the oldest president inaugurated for a first term if elected.

Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and white mother from Kansas, would become the first African-American president after a stunning rise to the pinnacle of US politics.

His Name is Hideo Muraoka

After Akihiro Sato melted our hearts (and pantyliners [of the girls, that is hahaha!]), here's another luscious import from Brazil, the land that gave us samba, carnival and Havaianas. His name is Hideo Muraoka. Like Akihiro, Hideo is a mix of Brazilian and Japanese heritage. He is currently the new face of Folded and Hung's menswear line and he has done several print and TV ads in Bangkok (where he was initially based, just like Akihiro) and is soon to make waves here in Manila as well. For starters, here's an article about him taken from the supreme.ph website. Indulge!

Strip this Brapan: Introducing Hideo Muraoka

Published September 21, 2008

Hybrids are so hot right now. The fresh buffet of Brazilian-Japanese (or “Brapanese”, in case you’re out of the looks loop) models — sizzling Kobe-churasco meat on a stick — has proven to be a mix made in man-nequin heaven. When you’ve got the subdued heat of the rising sun and that carnal Brazilian charisma coursing through your genetically slick body, you’re pretty much guaranteed a prime billboard spot along Edsa — or a lineup of hoochies grabbing at your guns when you’re swinging by the club.

Hideo Muraoka is a special strain of Brapanese, though. Sure, he’s got the blown-up torso on Edsa down, pumped-up and pouting in a pair of dark jeans for Folded & Hung. But you’d expect a little something different from a guy who was on his way to snagging a law degree, finishing up his first semester in Sao Paulo before deciding to live the life of a wanderer — racking up modeling jobs in Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong before heeding the advice of some American buddies and landing on this tropical side of the world.

Only a brief span of time in Manila and he’s also landed enough gigs to get the girls and gay boys all flushed in fascination. And while the city’s high-living nightlife and its strobe-seeking vampires tend to eat up a few good-looking imports, Hideo’s got his symmetric head on straight. “I’ve never been to Embassy. I don’t like to party too much and I only drink a little bit,” the 20-year-old admits. “I’d rather travel around the Philippines — go to beaches and tourist places with friends.”

There are other concerns as well apart from swaggering his way into the artista assembly line like a few of his colleagues have. When he flies back home next year, he might just do the unusually responsible thing and grab his degree, maybe shifting to a course in marketing or advertising. He could even fly back here, study Tagalog, and cover more ad space and a prime spot in television. Or hey, the guy could have the best of both worlds and claim both the degree and a mass-swaying decree in entertainment. The hybrid heat makes anything possible.