Americans try out Jollibee

So some of the staff of Buzzfeed agreed to try the offerings of Jollibee in the U.S. Some of the feedback was hilarious:

Little Big Bite (Spam sandwich): “It tastes like a sandwich made by a divorced dad.”
Spicy Chicken: “It’s like a new type of spice.”
Burger Steak: “It look beautiful. I love it.” “I think that looks disgusting.”
Halo Halo: “How stoned [were} the Jollibee people when making this stuff up?” “It looks like if Christmas was a food.”

Talking Philippine comics with Studio Salimbal (Now with parts 1 & 2 of the Artists Panel!)

I had a blast yesterday at the newly-launched Studio Salimbal’s “Let’s Talk Philippine Comics” forum at Fully Booked BGC. The place was packed with comics creators and fans, and the discussions were lively and informative. (More info in a bit.)

A few things (indie) authors need to know about book covers

  1. Your book cover isn’t an art thing. It’s a marketing thing. A pretty book cover is good, but what’s important is that it be able to sell the book it’s on the cover of.
  2. Do not make your own book covers. Unless you actually do make book covers — meaning, people hire you to do them.
  3. Not all amazing artists can design a decent book cover. (In the same way not all book cover designers can paint a decent portrait in watercolor, or design a corporate logo.)
  4. If a cover looks good for your print book, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for the ebook version. You can have different covers for each, or you could just make sure your cover works for both print and digital versions.
  5. If your book cover is pretty or interesting, people will talk about it. This is a good thing.
  6. Don’t underestimate the power of a great tag line. It’s the first words your potential readers will see, apart from your book title, when they look at your book cover. Try to make it interesting (maybe even clever and/or funny) and short.

The Style Mudra has a video

When dressing, I try to have style. I really do. But it’s hard, isn’t it? First of all, you have a budget you have to work within. Then there’s having to haul your ass off your nice comfy chair in front of the nice shiny computer (internetz) to go brave the traffic and the crowds to go shopping so you have something to wear other than that Doctor Who shirt that’s falling apart from use. Then every day, you have to put some thought into your ensemble.

The Mudra understands.

I this video, my friend Katrina, author and style blogger (Plus Size Fasyon Mudra, Mangojuiced.com), talks about what motivated her to rediscover her fashion-loving ways, and how to develop your personal style despite the demands of your lifestyle. I was happy to learn that people don’t become stylish by accident or luck, but through a little effort. I can do that! We all can.

One O’Clock, but with an accent

So apparently there were going to be a bunch of ONE OK ROCK tribute nights in different countries, including mine. I didn’t know it had quite a following here (or at least, in Manila). Philippine OORers (P.O.O.R.) slated this year’s for March 2 at Freedom Bar in Quezon City. We went, and we had a blast. Despite the fact that I had only heard one album of theirs, and I barely knew OOR members’ names. But, but! I had a favorite song (“Pierce”, whose name I kept forgetting also, since it didn’t seem to appear anywhere in the lyrics) so I was ready to, uh, be rocked.

There were about a dozen bands who played, with various levels of, uh, success. (And most of them needed crib notes, but then the lyrics which were about half Nihongo so I suppose it was best to play safe.) But, but! the performers’ passion for the music made the evening enjoyable. I hope there will be another one soon!

The Women on the Web Philippines Summit on March 22-23

After a successful inaugural launch of Women On the Web (WOW) in Singapore last year, the Women@Google group is bringing the new and improved program to women entrepreneurs in Philippines in the Women on the Web Summit on March 22 and 23. All women business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs are invited to attend the free event, so sign up here as today is the last day of registration.

Participants will learn skills and discover online tools they can use to make their business ventures succeed. The program includes an assessment of your needs, a training session on Google’s suite of tools, and a variety of industry-related workshops on topics relevant to entrepreneurs.

At the end of the initiative, you can expect to:

  • Learn how to maximize your business’ online presence, collaborate effectively within your organisation, connect with your customers, promote your business and track and optimise your efforts using online tools
  • Be a part of a strong network of women-led businesses that support one another

That’s not all. Summit participants can expect future networking and development sessions after the workshop. The Google Business Group will be working to ensure the community of women on the web can continue to update their tech knowledge.

Park Shin Hye “Kiss of Angel” in Manila — best fanmeet ever!

I’m seriously too spazzed out (and busy at work) to write a proper blog post of last Saturday’s Park Shin Hye (“You’re Beautiful”, “Flower Boy Next Door”, “Stairway to Heaven”) fan meeting (the Manila leg of her “Kiss of Angel” Asia tour), but in the meantime, enjoy these HD videos I took of the event. Miss Park was a hoot! She was funny and smart and charming, and everyone had a great time. And she sang one of my favorite songs from my childhood (the current version is a remake of a Smokey Mountain original), “Kailan”.

The Jack Ryan Defense

This morning, while I was riding a cab home from Makati, the radio was tuned to a news channel. I don’t know what station or program it was, but the hosts were discussing the ethics violation complaints. One of them suggested that the citizens who filed the complaint were lying when they denied that filing the complaint had nothing to do with the Reproductive Health Bill, of which Sen. Sotto has been a staunch, tireless critic.

Now, of course, technically, plagiarism is plagiarism, whether or not your speech has to do with the RH Bill. However, it may be better to take the Jack Ryan defense when accused of filing ethics complaints against Sotto.

Alive

Surviving a concert moshpit is much like surviving a zombie apocalypse. You’ll need strength, stamina, and the ability to go for hours without a bathroom break. I thought having survived the moshpit of the Korean Music Wave in Singapore would prepare us for this, but I was so very wrong. My throat was sore and I was borderline dehydrated, but we were all giddy and excited.