‘Game of Thrones’ favored over ‘American Horror Story’ in Emmys

LOS ANGELES – Although “American Horror Story: Asylum” bested HBO’s fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” in picking up the most Primetime Emmy nominations on Thursday, the fright-filled FX miniseries could face another tough year at the fickle Emmys.

“It’s cursed by being in the horror genre,” Hollywood awards show handicapper Tom O’Neil of Goldderby.com said. “Emmy voters, like Oscar voters, are horrified of the horror genre and tend to stay away.”

The torture-filled miniseries set in a nun-run mental hospital picked up the same number of nominations as its predecessor, “American Horror Story: Murder House,” did last year, and “Murder House” was only able to win two Emmys – best hairstyling and best supporting actress, both in a miniseries.

It was not the only show to flop at last year’s Emmys, the top awards in U.S. television. Perennial favorite “Mad Men,” the depiction of the 1960s Madison Avenue advertising world, set a record for losses, walking away empty-handed after 17 nominations.

The Emmys honor a broad swath of television production, from the pinnacle prize of best drama series to more obscure ones like best sound mixing for non-fiction programming. There are 537 separate nominations and HBO alone picked up 20 percent of those.

The Time Warner cable channel’s “Game of Thrones” racked up 16 nods and should run away with victories in many categories, O’Neil said.

“‘Game of Thrones’ will sweep those tech categories,” the analyst said of its nominations in best sound editing, visual effects and single-camera picture editing for a drama series, among others.

But the handicapper, who said it has also been difficult in the past for fantasy series to break through in top categories, believes “Game of Thrones” is poised to cash in for nods in best drama series and best writing in a drama series.

“Suddenly what was unthinkable last year is possible,” O’Neil said. “It can win.”

VOTERS WARMING

One element working in “Game of Thrones” favor is the broad range of nominees put forward by voters. The series goes up against the likes of British period drama “Downton Abbey” and anti-terror thriller “Homeland,” last year’s top drama.

“But whereas ‘Downton’ may not have matched the quality of its earlier seasons this year, ‘Game of Thrones’ had its best and most-watched season yet, and made demonstrable inroads with actors, too,” wrote The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg.

Peter Dinklage, who won best supporting actor for “Game of Thrones” in 2011, picked up his third consecutive nomination in the category, and fellow cast member Emilia Clarke scored her first Emmy nod in the best supporting actress category.

Both O’Neil and Variety’s Justin Kroll said that although Academy of Television Arts and Sciences voters are often slow in warming to fantasy series, a show’s popularity may ultimately win out.

ABC’s top-rated fantasy drama “Lost” is one recent example as it won best drama series in 2005. “Game of Thrones,” to its credit, is HBO’s second-most watched TV drama in its history, behind only “The Sopranos.”

“For a show with a largely international cast that is shot far outside the confines of the U.S. (Ireland, Iceland, Bulgaria etc.), it took a little time for the creative community to wrap its arms around the epic fantasy,” Kroll wrote.

source: interaksyon.com

Florida lawmakers join clamor to repeal 'Stand Your Ground' law

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Florida must either repeal its "Stand Your Ground" self-defense law or enact sweeping changes to avert more tragedies like the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, Democratic leaders of the state's legislature said on Thursday.

A Seminole County jury on Saturday acquitted George Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter, with one juror citing Stand Your Ground as a factor in reaching her legal conclusion that Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, acted in self-defense.

The Zimmerman verdict demonstrated the ramifications of the 2005 law, Florida Senate Democratic leader Chris Smith said.

"This bill actually encourages people to shoot their way out of situations and that's not how we live in a civilized society," Smith told a news conference. "It's a mentality that has permeated the state of Florida. It's a mentality of shoot first, and we should not have that in a civilized society."

Smith was joined by Florida House Democratic leader Perry Thurston. Both called for a special session of the state's Republican-dominated legislature to overhaul the law or consider doing away with it.

Unless Florida lawmakers act quickly, calls for a boycott of the state like the one voiced by Motown legend Stevie Wonder are likely to grow as part of a mounting backlash, they warned.

Civil rights groups also are calling for changes in the law.

With the state legislature in recess, Republican Governor Rick Scott would need to convene a special legislative session.

Dozens of young demonstrators have been occupying part of Scott's office in the Florida capital, Tallahassee, since Tuesday to press demands that he order the state's lawmakers back to work to toss out or modify the law.

Scott said he met with leaders of the sit-in demonstration for the first time on Thursday night, but he indicated he had no plans to call a special session.

The governor stressed, however, that the demonstrators had a "right to share their views with their state legislators and let them know their opinions on the law."

Ballot initiative

Smith and other lawmakers tried to get the Stand Your Ground law changed in the past legislative session in Tallahassee but failed to get a committee hearing on the issue.

After the Martin shooting, Scott appointed a task force to examine the statute.

The task force held seven hearings around the state before recommending to keep the law despite many calls for it to be repealed or amended.

"Tonight, the protesters again asked that I call a special session of the legislature to repeal Florida's Stand Your Ground law. I told them that I agree with the Task Force on Citizen Safety, which concurred with the law," Scott said in a statement.

Smith and Thurston said a ballot initiative was likely if the legislature failed to change the law, voicing confidence that public outrage over the verdict would help generate enough signatures to place the matter on the ballot.

According to the instructions given to the jury, Zimmerman had "no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and meet force with force" if he reasonably feared for his life or great bodily harm.

Though the Stand Your Ground law was not specifically cited as part of the defense mounted by Zimmerman's lawyers, Smith said the jury instructions that helped pave the way for his acquittal came directly from the statute.

Smith and Thurston were joined at their news conference by Broward County State Attorney Michael Satz, who said he and other law enforcement officials supported calls for an urgent overhaul of the Stand Your Ground law.

"I think putting in the statute that you do not have the duty to retreat is a mistake. I think life is precious and before you do that you should do everything in your power not to do that and to retreat if you possibly can," Satz said.

"Before there was a common law duty that you had to retreat before you used deadly force," he added. "I just don't think you need the Stand Your Ground statute."

The Florida statute was adopted under former Republican Governor Jeb Bush. Many other states, acting with broad support from the National Rifle Association, have followed Florida's lead over the last seven years.

source: interaksyon.com

Dell launches own ‘converged infra’ server for SMEs, remote offices

MANILA, Philippines — Small and medium businesses looking to get enterprise-grade IT systems without using up all their budget can turn to Dell’s latest offering, a “converged infrastructure” server that meets firms’ IT demands without having to break the bank.

Dell’Dells new PowerEdge VRTX product affords small enterprises the capabilities of a server, a storage array, and a networking switch all in one box that can be easily deployed and maintained by undermanned SMEs.s new PowerEdge VRTX product affords small enterprises the capabilities of a server, a storage array, and a networking switch all in one box that can be easily deployed and maintained by undermanned SMEs.

Executives said that by having all three IT components in a single unit solves the problem of IT sprawl, one of the more compelling issues inside data centers where years of deploying systems from a number of brands had led to systems that are rigid and incompatible.

“Most firms would have their own servers, storage systems, and networking equipment, but they’re all from different vendors,” related Allan Divinagracia, team leader for the enterprise solutions group at Dell Philippines. “The Dell PowerEdge VRTX is a fully integrated system so SMEs can focus on more proactive tasks in their business and data centers.”

With sprawl, the Dell executive said integration challenges among hardware components becomes a pressing problem. “If they can’t make it work together, business performance suffers,” he added.

Dell’s PowerEdge VRTX server comes with up to four blade server slots and up to 25 storage disks. Two models are currently available: the M520 with a 1G four-core Ethernet switch; and the M620, with a 10G Ethernet switch.

With three integral IT components all in one chassis, Divinagracia said management and maintenance of the server is easier, as SMEs would just have to use a single console to manage all aspects and parts of the server.

Through the same management console, businesses can quickly link with the Dell Helpdesk in the country to aid in troubleshooting problems that may occur with the server.




By deploying the Dell PowerEdge VRTX in their respective IT environments, businesses can boost productivity by being able to do more tasks with less IT resources, since the new offering is also capable of virtualization that help businesses maximize their investments.

While the setup is ideal for SMEs strapped for cash and resources, Divinagracia said the PowerEdge VRTX is also a good unit to deploy in branch offices, which do not need as much compute power as a full-scale data center.

“Converged Infrastructure” is a buzzword that has been gaining ground in the last few years due to the complex nature of most data centers. By converging server, storage, and network in one box, IT departments stand to save on costs but at the risk of vendor lock-in.

“Dell’s customer-inspired innovation is driven by our deep understanding of the business realities impacting customers today, and interpreting those trends through delivery of modern IT architectures conceived and engineered for the needs of different businesses – one size does not fit all,” said Christopher Papa, country manager at Dell Philippines.

“With the new solution we have unveiled today, Dell is demonstrating its differentiated approach to solution development for customers of all sizes – from the small office of five people to large enterprise datacenters,” Papa added.

According to Dell, pricing for the PowerEdge VRTX with business partners start at $10,000 per unit.

source: interaksyon.com

China’s Baidu buys mobile app firm for $1.9 billion

BEIJING — China’s leading Internet search engine is to buy a smartphone app distribution firm for $1.9 billion, it said Tuesday, in what is said to be the largest takeover deal in the country’s Internet industry.

The move will consolidate Baidu’s position as a leading access portal to China’s mobile Internet, according to a report by Chinese industry research firm CCID.

Baidu held 80.6 percent of the country’s search engine market in the first quarter of this year, independent research firm iResearch said in a recent report.

The firm said in a statement it has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire a 57.41 percent stake in 91 Wireless Websoft currently held by NetDragon, a company based in southeast China’s Fujian province.

It will buy the rest of 91 Wireless’ shares owned by other parties on similar terms, giving the deal a total value of $1.9 billion.

That makes it by far the largest acquisition in China’s Internet sector, CCID said on its website.

Started six years ago, 91 Wireless operates two leading smartphone app distribution platforms in China, with more than 10 billion apps downloaded to date, according to the Baidu statement.

The company is the top third-party app distribution platform in China by both active users and accumulated downloads, Baidu said, citing a 2011-2012 report by iResearch.

source: interaksyon.com

Max's to open maiden Las Vegas store in September, 3 more in Canada, Middle East before yearend

MANILA - Max’s Restaurant will open its first store in gaming hub Las Vegas in September, on top of three other new restaurants in Canada, Kuwait and Qatar before yearend.

On the sidelines of a Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) symposium-workshop late Monday, Max’s Franchising Inc president Robert F. Trota told reporters that the branch in Las Vegas, Nevada will be opened in the first week of September. The 515-square meter Las Vegas outlet is company-owned, and costs $1.2 million or roughly P52 million to put up, he said.

Max’s said its Las Vegas restaurant will be located at 1290 East Flamingo Road. Max’s Restaurant has eight other branches in the US—five in California (Glendale, Milpitas, Puente Hills, San Francisco and Vallejo); two in Hawaii (Dillingham and Waipahu); and one in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Trota said the latest US branch is also set to be the flagship training store in America.

Max’s Las Vegas restaurant aims to attract a wider customer base, Trota said, as “a lot of people go to Vegas.” According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority “nearly 40 million visitors” flock the city every year.

At present, 9 out of 10 customers of Max’s stores in the US are Filipinos, five percent have “Filipino-American influences” while the remaining five percent are “Americans who are adventurous” in their food choices, Trota said.

This customer profile is consistent with Max’s strategy of opening stores in areas with huge Filipino populations, Trota said, adding that, “We needed the Filipino community to help us bring Max’s to the mainstream.”

The company however would like to expand its clientele to non-Filipinos, who so far have taken to Max's signature fried chicken and adobo, he said.

Besides the Las Vegas store, Max’s will inaugurate a branch in Alberta, Canada by yearend, Trota said. The Alberta restaurant is a franchise with an investment of also $1.2 million for a 780-square meter site. Max’s has a branch each in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Vancouver.

Max's franchisees in the US and Canada are Filipinos, Trota said.

Two more restaurants in the Middle East are also in the works, hopefully for opening before the year ends, he said.

“We have chosen the sites in Qatar and Kuwait but we have not yet signed the lease,” he said. Max’s has three existing branches in the United Arab Emirates—one each in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah—all operated by Arab franchisees.

For its Asian expansion, Max’s Restaurant is eyeing the so-called “TIPS,” which besides the Philippines also include Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. “We just have to find the right franchisees,” Trota said.

On the local front, six to eight new stores will be opened in the second half to add to the existing 135 nationwide. “The additional branches will be in the new malls,” Trota said.

More than half of Max’s stores in the country are company-owned. Investment for a Max’s Restaurant costs between P12 million and P18 million.

Despite the influx of other local as well as foreign-led restaurants also offering different types of chicken dishes, Trota said Max’s continues to expand its sales. “The pie is just growing bigger,” he said.

Max’s Restaurant was established in 1945 by Trota’s grandmother, whose signature fried chicken dish became popular with American GIs staying in the Philippines after the Second World War. It started franchising in 1998.

source: interaksyon.com

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Here comes the unexpected bridal gown

MANILA, Philippines - If cupcake wedding gowns are your thing, turn away now. Pastry-shaped frocks are not the province of these forward- thinking young designers who want to shape the future of gowns making their way down an aisle near you.

Gian Romano

“I took my cues from an old bath robe, I liked the clean, architectural lines and the elegant drape.”

Rosanna Ocampo

“For your classic bride who loves good old romance, my gown evokes a vintage feel with an unexpected twist.”

Maureen Disini

“For this particular gown, I tried to inject some drama and romance using materials I picked up from my travels: ivory French lace from Bangkok, frosty white polka-dot illusion tulle from the fabric market in Istanbul, and a pure white velvet bow from the high streets of London. With all these rich textures combined, I kept my lines and silhouette pure and simple.”

Kristel Yulo

“I was inspired by the calm beauty and angelic softness of angels. I had a bride who was very soft who inspired the dress. The shapes of the cutouts, as well as linear beadwork and surface treatment, were inspired by Art Deco period.”



Vania Romoff

“Easy, classic and fresh. Pockets on the sides are essential for me.”



Photos by BJ PASCUAL

Makeup by PONG NIU

Hair by ALEE BENSON

Modeled by PAULINE PRIETO

source: philstar.com

Good penmanship begins with the right tools

MANILA, Philippines - Selecting pencils that a beginner can easily grip and work with is more important than most parents think, according to Cristina Caraig, marketing manger of Amalgamated Specialties Corporation (Amspec), exclusive makers of T-Pencil and Crayola in the Philippines.

For many beginners, the T-Pencil with large-sized hexagonal barrels are ideal. Others find the Jumbo model with round barrel in black — the standard pencil for kinder students in the ’50s up to the ’60s — easier to work with. Still other pupils are more comfortable with the T-Pencil with triangular barrel. The same model works well for left-handed youngsters.

Each child has his own preference, point out studies by Amspec, which has been making pencils for 50 years. It used to manufacture other pencil brands until it decided to develop its own label.  “The key is to help a child experiment — beginning perhaps with the hexagonal models with larger barrels,” says Caraig.

She notes that the best time to prepare a child to write is as young as 18 months or old enough to grip a crayon. The best precursor to a good pencil is a good crayon — one that is easy for little hands to grasp and at the same time will not easily snap. More important, a crayon should be non-toxic to avoid harming youngsters who tend to put things in their mouth.

Crayola’s My First Crayons were designed especially for toddlers and meet all of the above requirements. They are also deliberately not labeled so that kids don’t have to struggle peeling them off after long hours of scribbling. Like all Crayola products, they meet the European Union’s consumer safety, health and environmental requirements. They are also registered with the Philippine Food and Drug Administration and have been deemed safe by the USA Arts and Crafts Materials Institute.

“Drawing and writing are complex tasks for growing children to master,” says Caraig. Both activities require grasping an implement, holding the paper so it stays in place, and applying just the required pressure. A crayon that glides easily on paper facilitates mastery of this skill. In lieu of a crayon, markers made intentionally for pudgy hands like Crayola’s stubby Pip-Squeaks help a child hone the skill. With the right coaching, scribbling metamorphoses to writing with a pencil.



Crayons and pencils that are easy for a toddler to use also build his confidence. “A two-or-three-year-old, says Caraig, “automatically attributes the efficiency of his writing implements to his own abilities — and vice versa. When a crayon does not register well on paper or when a pencil’s lead snaps easily, he automatically thinks it is because he has done a bad job.”

source: philstar.com

He said, she said with Paolo Ballesteros

MANILA, Philippines - In a showbiz culture where people clamor for confirmation of an artista’s sexuality, Paolo Ballesteros is a tease. And from his knowing smile, you get the feeling that he is not the one who is confused. Paolo knows who he is. He acts and speaks however he wishes to in public.  He even gives giveaway answers sometimes, but if you try to solidify it further, he will playfully retreat and deny it to your face.

Following a string of convincingly played transvestite roles, winning a drag pageant on Eat Bulaga, and more recently, Instagram photos where he transformed himself into the likes of Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, and Mariah Carey with his own makeup skills, Paolo has been hounded for an explanation. And all he has to say is this, “Wala akong tinatago. Kung anong makikita niyo, yun na. Ngayon kung magtatanong kayo kung bakla ako, sasabihin ko hindi. Bahala na kayong malito. (I’m not hiding anything. What you see is what you get. Now if you’re asking if I’m gay, I’ll say no. It’s up to you to be confused.)”

You would think cross-dressing would be such a big jump for a hunky, handsome guy like Paolo, especially in a society that considers the image of masculinity to be so fragile and easily broken. But when you ask him about it, it becomes clear that while he’s aware of the current gender norms, he’s been bred in the kind of world that never considered such things to be a big deal. Even for his tranny antics on the noontime show Eat Bulaga, people only laugh and compliment him on how beautiful he looks.

Family background

He tells us about his family background. A descendant of National Artist Fernando Amorsolo, he grew up having a tomboy for an ate and an artist/painter for a dad, a dad who loved to paint flowers and would sometimes come home with an orchid tucked behind his ear. Then, of course, there is the becky-dominated world of showbiz. Now at 30, he says that he never saw anything wrong growing up and working in such an environment, and therefore isn’t afraid to play the kind of roles many a man would shy away from.

As an actor, he wants people to switch on the TV and see different forms of him — especially when it comes to the physical aspect, which is the first thing he looks forward to altering. He enjoys his transformations and every opportunity to fill in different shoes — hence, his new Instagram hobby. This is also why he didn’t mind eventually getting niched into gay and transvestite roles, when people started noticing what a beautiful girl he made. “Maraming characters na pwedeng gawin. Merong maarteng bakla, supladang bakla. (There are a lot of characters that can be portrayed. There are fussy gays, prissy gays.)”






While Paolo certainly has the air of someone who is sure of himself, unlike strong LGBT advocates who present a solid identity and fight for it, he considers himself to still be in the stage of discovery. When asked if he feels like a woman trapped in a man’s body, he answers, “Siguro, at feeling ko yung woman na yun beauty queen. Diva slash beauty queen. Ganun kalala. (Maybe, and perhaps a woman who’s a beauty queen. It’s that serious.)”

But when I ask him if he misses being hunky, he also answers in the affirmative. He says he can’t wait to hit the gym and bulk up, but currently can’t since he’s doing a lot of girly roles, especially for Super Sireyna. He has to check his schedule, he says.

Even his new fetish for turning himself into hot female celebrities was something he never saw coming. He promised there would be more Instagram photos to look forward to, and this time he’d be turning himself into male celebrities.

Tinge of frustration


There’s a tinge of frustration right after the interview. I felt like I wasn’t able to get anything concrete. Here was a person who insisted on shifting from one spectrum to another. I felt like I failed to catch him. But then I figured, what is there to pin down? Aren’t we all constantly evolving and discovering ourselves? Aren’t we all living, breathing paradoxes? Didn’t he truly show himself to me? I felt no trace of the tension that comes with being contrived or having to put up a front. Paolo was casual, unscripted, and open.

Is it possible I was too busy looking for something that fit into the compartments I knew of, instead of paying attention to his actual person? In fact, wouldn’t that have been the simpler way to “pin him down” so to speak. To just take him as was and not invent things to be confused about?

Maybe instead of trying to catch Paolo, we should consider that he has a thing or two to teach us about living in the process, about surrendering to the opposite poles of who you are, if that’s the case, and not being so uptight about what label you fall under. And maybe that’s why he doesn’t have the patience to keep explaining, confirming, and denying himself to the public. He authentically lives out who he is, and if you’re open to who that could possibly be and are truly paying attention, that should be enough.

source: philstar.com

Saudi ban affected 10 million users; Viber eyeing a workaround

MANILA, Philippines — Popular instant messaging application Viber said it is coming up with a workaround to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabian government on its service last month.

Talmon Marco, Viber chief executive, revealed that they are working around the clock to “circumvent the restrictions” and make the chat and calling application available again to users in Saudi Arabia as he expressed frustration regarding the situation.

“We’re frustrated, we have 10 million users or so in Saudi Arabia,” Marco said during a press conference announcing the partnership between the Cyprus-based technology startup and local operator Globe Telecom. “They are taking advantage of a vulnerability in Google Play to block Viber download in most Android phones.”

It will be remembered that Viber was recently banned by Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator for not adhering to the agency’s strict but vague regulations, and for competing with duly licensed telecom companies.

A good number of Overseas Filipino Workers vented disappointment with the ban, saying Viber was one of their limited ways to keep in touch with relatives back in the Philippines.

Marco said usage of the app dropped considerably in Saudi Arabia following the ban, but has not affected usage in the Philippines as much.

To go around the restriction, the Viber top executive said users are sideloading the app to their phones and using an encrypted connection to continue using the app.

“We are very close to solving this on iOS,” Marco added, without giving any specifics. Unlike Android, Apple apps could only be downloaded and installed through the dedicated app store.

He did not disclose if they are negotiating with the Saudi Arabian regulator to lift the ban, or if they are working with the government to meet its demands in order for the application to be available again in the Middle Eastern country.

But he stressed that their company slogan, “Connect. Freely.” stands as more than just a marketing statement to promote their free services.

“It means users can communicate with friends and relatives free of charge, but it also means that they are able to connect with their loved ones without restrictions,” Marco explained.

“And what the Saudi government has done … it’s a sad day for the people of Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Marco is in the Philippines to promote a new partnership with Globe Telecom that would allow Viber users in the Philippines to use the service free of charge when they subscribe to the telco’s Unli25 unlimited call and text service for one day.

The operator has also launched Viber-only plans, where subscribers can use the app on an unlimited basis for just P10 a day or P30 for five days.

The executive said this is their way of saying that it is time to upgrade voice and SMS, an old telco service which has changed very little since being launched more than two decades ago.

Currently, Marco disclosed, the service has about 6.1 million users in the Philippines and has been growing steadily despite competition from other Asian-based messaging services.

source: interaksyon.com