From Flight Deck to Runway

These are my reports on the USS Carl Vinson and on the 25th anniversary of Penshoppe event at the Philippine Fashion Week 2011. These were aired in different dates, but both events took place in just one day. It was the day I first visited an aircraft carrier and watched a runway show.

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USS Carl Vinson

Sunday, May 15, 2011 was a historic day for me. I did 2 things for the first time in my life. In the morning, I visited the USS Carl Vinson. It was my first time to go on board an aircraft carrier. By night time, I attended Penshoppe's Philippine Fashion Week event. It was my first time to attend a runway event.

But for this post, I'll focus on the aircraft carrier.
Initially, when our boat got closer to USS Carl Vinson, I thought it was kinda small than expected. But when we went inside, it was big. Over 5,000 sailors are on board the vessel and there are thousands of rooms. It can also carry up to 90 planes. The media was only allowed in the hangar bay and the flight deck.

The USS Carl Vinson is the vessel that carried Osama bin Laden's body for burial at sea. From the Arabian Sea, it went directly to Manila. But the media was told before boarding the vessel, that crew members are not authorize to answer Osama questions. Of course, some tried to ask, but the crew members were obedient to orders.

Here are some pics of USS Carl Vinson.

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Must Havs!

I only own one pair of Havaianas.
And I was thrilled when I was assigned to go to the media launch of the Make Your Own Havaianas 2011.
Thankfully, the media people were given a pair each.
Not to mention, we designed our own pair of slippers to suit our taste and personality.
Now, I have two pairs. :-)

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Metro Comic-Con 2

Here's my report of the 2011 Metro Comic Convention!
For some information, see previous post.

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Metro Comic-Con

I attended the 2011 Metro Comic Convention last weekend in Ortigas. It was my first time to go to such an event, and I'm really happy I did. Obviously, there were lots of comics, but there were also several collectibles and of course cosplayers.

I'm amazed that there are now many local comic books. I interviewed Heubert Michael, one of the organizers. He says, they are hoping for the revival of Pinoy comics, similar to what happened decades ago. He says, with the growing number of comics-turned movies and even fantaserye, they hope Filipinos will once again read and hold comic books.

One thing that interests me is the "Zombies in Manila". It's a 6-part series and 4 comic books are currently available. I'm a fan of zombie movies, so this is something I am geeky about. It was also my first time to see dozens of cosplayers all in one place! No need to describe them, just check the photos. There are so much more but I didn't get to take a photo of them.

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Digital Animation

I attended the launch of the newest course at the La Consolacion College Manila. The school, in partnership with Digimation UK, unveiled 3D courses on digital animation- including a 2-year degree and many short courses.

Filipinos are generally creative and it is no surprise that they excel in the field of animation, having been part of many hit Disney and Pixar movies. Sadly, there is not enough schools here in the Philippines that offer courses on animation... until now. LCCM is just one of the few colleges that offer this course, not to mention it is in cooperation with a major digital animation firm based in London.

Anyone who takes the course will get a certificate straight from the U.K. I interviewed Digimation CEO Dilip Amdekar. He says the animation industry is worth $50B dollars and it will continue to grow. The demand for animators will significantly rise. And Filipinos must seize that opportunity. It will not only be a venue for creative and artistic Pinoys, but it will also help the country financially. Dilip says, the the minimum pay for an animator is $30,000/year and it can reach up to $90,000/year.

The cost for the courses is around P23,000 upwards. Digimation says, thhey will teach students not just one program or one topic, but it will focus on various topics- 3D, gaming, animation, etc. The only requirement is that one has to be passionate about animation. No experience necessary. You can call the numbers below and you might just be Hollywood's next bigtime animator.

For more information;
La Consolacion College Manila
#8 Mendiola, Manila, Philippines
(632)-3130522 or 3130523
info.digimationUK@gmail.com

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Papal memories

May 1, 2011 was a major event in the Catholic Church as Pope Benedict XVI beatified his predecessor Pope John Paul II. And as the world watches the beatification rites, Filipinos kept on reminiscing the times the late pope came to the country as head of the church- first in 1981, then in 1995. Filipinos also took photos of the Pope Mobile used in 1995, and touch several pope memorabilia, which are now called relics.

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