Where you can get the best Chinese Lumpiang sariwa (fresh) in Manila. Did I say cheap? Well it was priced below what you would get in any other restaurant. Like any city Manila and that Sunday the environs of Binondo was a vast array of streets with hidden and not-so-hidden culinary treasures waiting to be discovered or re-discovered,
This was the Lumpia. For me it did not need any sauce.
The dumplings of Dong Bei Taken last July. we were so busy eating we did not take any pictures.
It was a culinary cornucopia of delight. And for those who missed it well sorry na lang.
Wow, it’s been a hectic year for blogging. Now that I finally have time to concentrate on the org, with a help of many good friends, I’m trying to line up several “low cost, high impact” activities which have a bigger social dimension.
When we launched many months ago, the purpose of the group was to help promote blogging as a relevant part of media. I gave it three years. It’s only been one year and blogging has already made a huge impact as a social phenomenon. Not that I’m shifting roles - but it would be nice to use the medium to promote more goodwill on a grassroots level.
As an added treat the sponsors of the event have donated prizes for those that attended. Just write a post (this could be a photo, video or a short essay about your experience and leave a comment on this post with a link to your post.
Just in time for June. The Blog and Soul Movement is starting a new series of talks/events hopefully that will help keep bloggers more healthy. Hence the name Fat Blog or aka Hug A Healthy Blogger. The aim is to be more healthy and happy.
We were fortunate to have on board Miss Jane of Yoginimla and Heres to Life. (http://yoginimla.wordpress.com and http://herestolife.wordpress.com) who has been tirelessly helping us with this project. And to kick things of with the cooperation of Mr Pio Baquiran of Vinyasa Yoga Center there will be Yoga Session followed by an authentic vegetarian dinner on June 28.
What: Yoga Session and Vegetarian Dinner
When: 28th of June 2008
Where: 17/F Strata 100 Bldg., Emerald Ave., Ortigas
Unfortunately, Due to certain constraints this event is limited to a specified number of bloggers. At the moment we can accommodate only ten (10) bloggers. Please check for updates.
If you are interested just please leave a comment on the blog with a valid email address and your blog’s URL so we can contact you.
A video taken during the talk with Prof Butch Dalisay at Kape Isla, Serendra. It was a balmy Saturday afternoon and the coffee shop was filled up with bloggers and friends who were engaged in a conversation with Butch Dalisay regarding writing and other things under the Sun.
Here is the PODCAST or full audio recording of this particular talk. The talk lasted for more than an hour.
This is the podcast of the Blog & Soul Movements talk on Libel and Blogging. Held at Kape Isla, Serendra with Atty Butch Dado sharing his expertise about libel and bloggers present joining the discussion.
Date: Saturday, March 8
Time : 3 to 5 PM
Venue: Kape Isla Serendra
Resource Person: Professor Butch Dalisay
Jose Dalisay Jr., aka Butch Dalisay is a Palanca Hall of Fame
Awardee, UP professor, and owns a blog at Pinoy Penman
(http://penmanila.net/)
Butch Dalisay views blogs as a form of literature. Anything that is
written is literature. The quality varies. Some are good. Some are
bad. Blogs fail as literature when there is barely any editing. Never
mind the grammatical and mechanical mistakes. The organization, the
material, the way it is approached, other things you could have
brought in instead but didn’t. In other words, it’s not really thought
out because maybe it wasn’t designed that way. It is exciting because
it empowers ordinary people to be authors and publishers. Over time,
it’s going to change how literature will look. There is this move from
text to the internet and the hypertext moving back to print. It won’t
be far before there will be a compilation of “Best of Blogs”.
Butch Dalisay graciously agreed to hold a short talk on Creative
Non-Fiction for Bloggers for those who want to get more tips on
creative writing.
You can bring your laptops to the venue. If you have questions that
need special attention, please give suggestions.
Limited slots available. You wish to join? Please tell us: Leave a comment and your intent to join the conversation.
What is libel?
Can we libel if we do not moderate our comments?
Does the Supreme Being have an ass or not?
These are just bust a sample of the questions and topics discussed during the First Kape @ Pandesal Series: The Libel Talk with Atty Butch Dado. It was an interesting, informative and entertaining.
Blog & Soul had a busy first month despite the hibernating state of our blog. Several meetings and exchanges were done to prepare for the following activities this year.
All I can say is that is turning out to be a very active year for all Blog & Soul Volunteers and friends, this means YOU!
To start things of we are launching the KAPE sa Isla series: Kape Pan de Sal at Etc sa Isla. Hopefully a series of monthly roundtable talks open to all bloggers and would-be bloggers.
The 1st Topic for KAPE sa Isla:
Blog Ethics and Libel
Date: Saturday, February 16, 2007
Time : 10:00 AM to 12:00 AM
Venue: Kape Isla, Serendra, Across Market Market
Moderator : Atty. Luis (butch) H. Dado
And its for free.
Well, you do have to pay for your drinks and food.
We’ve been rather silent for the latter part of the past two months, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working on things. On October 24 2007, a couple of volunteers trekked to Lagro National High School to do an afternoon session with the national high school’s english teachers.
We talked about blogs, blogging, and using blogs as a teaching instrument in lesson plans. According to the teachers, high school students are very familiar with Friendster blogs as their means of self expression. Why not channel this enthusiasm into a learning tool in the classroom? The teachers were very receptive and although the session was short, we’re working on phase two of our school penetration program. We’ll be working with the top journalism students of Lagro National High School and help them use blogs in a number of class projects. The possibilities are numerous.
We’re in need of volunteers who are willing to take the time out to help us grow this project. One huge impediment is the availability of schedule as we usually do such activities during the weekday. Nonetheless, we will be needing a lot of help with brainstorming for communication tools for students, designing lesson plans. We have a volunteer mailing list and you can easily join by leaving a note here or in our email listed on the sidebar. Thanks to the volunteers who helped out during our previous session, including Arpee and Juned.
In an effort to bring back Philippine radio drama to the Internet, a few bloggers came together for a recording of a web 2.0 radio drama titled “Ang Buhay ni Boy” (The Life of Boy).
What: Blog and Soul volunteers project meeting When: September 18 2007 6:00 PM Where: Conti’s @ Serendra (with drinks after)
Volunteers of Blog and Soul are meeting up to flesh out plans for an exciting education program for college kids. Please join us! This activity is open to anyone who wishes to contribute his or her time and share blogging knowledge with others. See you there!
As we have discussed over cookies, Blog and Soul wants to grow some roots. If you feel that you want to contribute more to the mission of the movement, please leave a comment AND also send your contact information to movement at blogandsoul dot net. Let’s schedule a meet this September.
You may have noticed that the plans are vague - this is intended to be so, because I feel that the one thing better than one passionate blogger is a whole kaboodle of passionate bloggers who can help organize events that are PRO blogger (by PRO I mean events that are blogger-centric).
Don’t you just love the title? I would like to thank the young couple Gerwyn and Sheryl See for the great food and venue. I wish them the very best in their relaunch of the Mrs. Fields franchise. Anton Diaz has some fast facts about the rebranding of the 30 year old franchise that I grew up with. Small world too - Gerwyn and Sheryl come from UA&P, which is the same university I graduated from. They are two batches ahead of me.
There are many more people I would like to thank:
Marcelle Fabie, also known as Kel for putting on a great show that night. Folks, if you are in need of a good host and mentalist for your events, Marcelle is readily available and easy to book.
Nikki Dy-Liacco for sharing with us her experiences as a writer and how she launched her childrens’ book - and her blog, which she uses to complement her publication. The Yellow Paperclip with Bright Purple Spots is currently on its second print run. It has won various literary awards
Ces, Alma and the rest of the people from Momentum, who helped coordinate the event with Mrs. Fields.
Everyone who attended the event. Without your company, the event would have been meaningless. Honest.
I’m the branch’s very first customer! Bought a 14-inch choco chip cookie cake for P1,100.00
Again, thank you all for coming. As for Blog and Soul, I’m sure you will agree that success isn’t determined by how many people came to the launch, but on the quality of people who want to push for this movement for the next three years. Good times ahead. Blog on!
Thanks to Nina, here are the directions to the Manila Pavilion. The new Mrs. Fields branch is the former location of Starbucks at UN Avenue. The best landmark would be the Philam Theatre located across the Pavilion. If you are taking the train, just hop off at the United Nations station and enter the mall. Go down and you’re one minute away
Thank you to those who have signed up - and yes, if you have not yet signed up, now is your chance!
I’m quite surprised to find that more and more Philippine bloggers are finding out about this little movement. I’m surprised because even though this blog has been around for less than three months, I’ve been getting comments from a lot of “new faces.” In perspective, I’ve been writing at A Bugged Life for more than two years — yet Blog and Soul seems to be drawing in a lot of new faces, most of whom have never commented in my original blog.
I’m happy, surprised, and motivated! I would really love to know how you heard about the Blog and Soul Movement, and would also love to hear suggestions for relevant blogger events in the future. Thank you for your support and see you in our cookie fest this August!
What: Blog and Soul Launch and the Second Coming of Mrs. Fields When: August 21 (Tuesday), 7:00 PM Where: Mrs. Fields, Manila Pavilion
Everybody knows Mrs. Fields. The cookie stall was a main staple back in the age when life was a lot simpler. I’m quite happy to announce that Mrs. Fields is sponsoring a blogger meet up and reinventing themselves for the new generation of sweet tooths.
One of the more brazened decisions Mrs. Fields has made in the past several years is the fact that they do not compromise their menu. With the way non-fat and low calorie cookies are being mass marketed, Mrs. Fields chooses to stick to the good ‘ol chewey dough that I have come to love throughout the years.
This year, Mrs. Fields is reinventing herself to attract the coffee shop crowd into their new branches. I have slots for sixty (60) guests including bloggers, authors for Internet based publications, as well as food writers for traditional media. This will be the first time that Mrs. Fields will be opening its own store (complete with kitchen tour!) cum coffee shop to the public and you will be the first to witness it!
This blogger meet up will also serve as the “formal” launch of The Blog and Soul Movement. If you wish to join in on the cookie fest and meet new bloggers in the flesh, sign up in the comments or send an email to movement at blogandsoul dot net.
So the secret product was the CLEAR Anti=Dandruff shampoo by Unilever. I’m usually a skeptic with anti-dandruff shampoos as I have a skin condition which sometimes manifests into dandruff flakes during different parts of the year.
So I did give CLEAR a try and yes, it does work on my hair but it didn’t stop the itching. Maybe it’s because I just think too much and scratch my noggin as a manifestation of this.
Nonetheless, the event was fun. You can view other photos taken here as well as a fashion show commentary here and here.
